


EXO Origins

by exoxouniverse



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, How it all started, Origin Story, Survival, due to torture scenes, members pov, powers, some violence, warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-06-20 00:45:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15522357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exoxouniverse/pseuds/exoxouniverse
Summary: Nine of us were taken. They kept telling us we were different, one of a kind and filled with limitless possibilities. But why? What made us so special?They experimented on us, trained and tortured us. Finally getting what they wanted when we started developing powers unimaginable to humankind.Their first mistake was turning us into indestructible weapons. Their second was underestimating us. It was silly of them to think that we could be controlled. They should have known better, they should have known what they made would eventually be used against them.Even the most powerful have beginnings, this is ours.





	1. Chanyeol

**WARNING: Mature content due to some torture scenes. I don't think they're crazy graphic so I didn't put the Mature tag on but if you do please let me know and I can change that**

**Hey everyone, i** **t's finally here! (This fanfic is based off the plot of an EXO trailer video I made so watch it first before reading/watch it again for a recap)**

**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWkPbEOoAf0**

**Thanks everyone for the support, requests and suggestions, I really wouldn't have done this without you so I really appreciate it!**

**This is my first attempt at writing fanfic or anything of this type of genre, so please keep that in mind and don't be too harsh. This will be difficult for me but I promise to try my best. I would love to hear feedback, any constructive criticisms is appreciated and I'll work to improve on my writing!**

**It's been hard trying to figure out how to write this, since 9 members = a lot of characters to work with and not enough time for amazing character development (cause I want to keep this short...hopefully). So I'm going to go with that fact that most of you already know the member's personalities.**

**I've decided to write in all 9 member's perspective and I'm going to use their stage names since using their real names didn't really fit with the situation (except for Kyungsoo...I mean most people aren't named after two letters).**

**Even though it's written in English, let's assume they're speaking Korean but obviously I won't be making it too strict, as in following rules about formal and informal language/confucianism (age) culture, since it is written in English where there is no such thing. Although it might be mentioned here and there. Lastly, since I'm starting from the beginning, their ages are when they debuted so around 17-22. ENJOY!**

**I'll try to update every 2-4 days. Apologies in advance if I'm late!**

***I didn't realise there was no indentation on AO3, so I used spaces instead***

**-exoxouniverse**

 *****

I couldn't breathe. Darkness surrounded me and the smell of chemical sweetness assaulted my senses. I struggled, fighting against my captor but it was no use. My conscious was slowly slipping and I was outnumbered.

I didn't need my sight to confirm this since I could feel several hands holding down my body. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was a deep voice that said, "put him with the others, they're expecting him.

*********

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking several times before they adjusted to the dark. My body was stiff and I could feel the hard ground beneath me. I willed my limbs to move and I sat up, taking in my surroundings.

Surely this was a dream, not a dream but a nightmare. How could I be here? Only a few hours ago I was tucked away in bed but now all I could see was black metal bars surrounding me. I was in a jail cell.

Panic rushed through my body and instinct took over as terror penetrated my mind. Loudly, I shuffled back as far as I could until I hit a wall. The feeling of the concrete against my back rattled through my bones as I realized I needed to find a way out instead of sitting in the corner like a cowering idiot.

Pushing aside my fear, I rushed forward to the cell door but stopped short. I realized I had no real knowledge of prison escapes or what to do in this scenario. It wasn't something I was taught, like I had been about fire drills and earthquakes because this situation was entirely absurd.

How was I supposed to get out? The space between the bars were far too small to fit through and cell door wasn't budging without a key. There were no windows to be seen or even a crack in the wall behind, I was only met with darkness and silence.

I rattled the door becoming desperate, pushing and pulling with the little strength I had. The metal clanged loudly but I didn't care, in that moment I was beyond logical thought. I frantically screamed, "help! Is anyone there? Please if you can hear me, please help!"

"It's no use," a voice replied. I whipped my head around in the direction of the noise and realized I wasn't alone. In my panic, I hadn't seen the boy sitting in the next cell staring at me. "Every one of us had the exact same reaction but it's no use, you might as well save your energy."

I edged closer, crouching so I was eye level with him. As I neared him, I noticed he looked around my age—nineteen—with symmetrical features and fair skin. He was still handsome even though he looked worn and dirty, making me assume he had been here a while.

Uneasiness spiked through me, I didn't want to end up like him. It seemed as if the spark of life had been sucked out of him and there was no joy behind his dark eyes. Confused I echoed, "every one of us?"

He let out a sigh. "Look around you," he said, so I did. In every cell held a boy, similar to me, with black hair and Asian skin making me wonder if they were also Korean. They were watching me in silence with cautious gazes and I started feeling wary of the attention so I took a step back.

They all looked varying shades of worn, some worse than others but the boy who had spoken earlier looked the worst of them all. When my gaze landed back on him he explained, "I was the first one they took. Each day they've brought someone new and locked them in a cell. 8 days later, you've arrived, filling the last cell."

I was the last boy taken. 8 days later? There must be nine of us then. I looked around, counting the cells and confirmed my assumed calculation. What would they want with nine boys? Why were we taken? There were too many questions filling my brain but instead I asked, "who are you?"

"Suho," he said simply and I realized his name stood for guardian. "And you?"                 

Clearing my throat, I replied, "Chanyeol."

He assessed me and I wanted to shy away from his focus but instead I stayed put. I didn't know who he was or why he had also been taken but there must've been a reason.

There had to be a reason because I couldn't accept the possibility of this being a random choosing. I didn't want to believe that this was the hand fate had dealt me.

"Do you know why we're here?" I asked, hoping Suho would have an answer.

He opened his mouth to reply but a booming voice interrupted him, "play time is over boys."

Suho quickly stood up in attention and the other boys followed suit. Unsure what was happening, I stayed frozen in my crouched position.

"Stand up!" Suho whispered sharply to me and then added full of warning, "or else you'll get beat."

At those words, my body instantly reacted and fear propelled my movements. I had already been kidnapped, I had no idea what else these people were capable of. A man entered the room and stopped in front of my cell.

"Well, well look what we have here," he taunted with a smirk. I was surprised because he spoke Korean well even though he was Caucasian. "Finally, now that everyone is present, the real fun can begin."

Shivers ran through my body but I told myself not to cower from his gaze, so I met it in defiance. This man was the definition of huge. I was tall but he was at least 6ft 5 and had muscles bulging in places I didn't even think was possible. Not only was his size intimating but the mean grin on his face was even more so.

"I am Vic Archer and I'm here to keep you boys in check, so you'll be seeing my lovely face very often," he said as he slowly paced up and down the cells. "First, let's go over a few rules that will make everyone's stay here a lot easier. Rule number one: you will address me with full respect at all times and only call me Sir. Rule two: don't step out of line or do anything stupid, for example, try to escape. You won't succeed. Lastly, rule three: behave and follow orders. If you obey then I promise you won't have to feel any unnecessary pain, it's a win-win for everyone."

A win-win for everyone? Anger shimmered beneath the surface and I clenched my hands into fists trying to conceal it. I was shocked how well I was handling this situation but I realized my anger was just acting as a defense mechanism. All my other emotions were hidden behind the heat of my rage and I was grateful. I didn't want to feel fear or panic. I wanted to be strong even though on the inside, I wasn't.

I didn't know how to process any of this, everything was happening too fast. Part of my brain was still in denial and I was trying to convince myself this wasn't real. That I was still at home with my family and I hadn't been kidnapped and caged in a jail cell.

A loud bang jolted me from my thoughts, bringing me back to reality. Vic had hit a long black baton against the cell opposite me.

"Why am I not hearing an answer?" he thundered. Instantly a chorus of unsynchronized voices replied, "yes Sir."

"Louder," he demanded. We repeated the phrase, loud and clear and he nodded once, satisfied.

Suddenly men dressed in black entered the room and even though not all of them matched Vic's height, they were nearly as big in size. They proceeded to open the cell doors and forcefully drag us out. After we were restrained, they brought us to the center of the room, so we were standing in a line.

"Follow me," Vic ordered quietly and we began walking. As we moved, the men nudged us with their batons when they thought we were too slow but my focus was elsewhere. I told myself to memorize every detail of the route since it could be a way out.

We went up a staircase and walked along several hallways. I concluded that our cells had to be underground since it was all concrete and there was no light whatsoever. However, past the stairs it became more modern. It was still dark and dirty but at least there was some light coming through the rare windows we passed.

Finally, we entered a large room and I could tell we were in an old warehouse of some sort. It was bright though, too bright. The florescent lights shining off the white sterile surfaces caused my eyes to squint whilst waiting for them to adjust.

On one side of the room, there were beds lined up with an IV drip beside each one. I was smart enough to figure out we were about to be experimented on. There was no other explanation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who's next...


	2. Suho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING: some scenes with pain/torture, if you think they're too graphic let me know and I can put on the mature tag*

We were lined up in the middle of the room, facing the man named Vic. There were guards everywhere and people scattered around, dressed in white lab coats. The moment we entered, the answer I was searching for, became clear.

For the past nine days, I had raked my brain for a reason, questioning why I had been taken. With little knowledge of the situation and endless possibilities, I nearly went crazy trying to figure it out.

Now that I knew why, I felt no relief whatsoever. My attention went straight to the syringes filled with blue liquid and dread blossomed in my gut for what was to come.

A woman walked up next to Vic and he bowed low, in a respectful manner. This caught me by surprised, seeing someone as large as him acting submissive towards a petite Asian woman. With a slight wave of her hand, the room fell silent and Vic took a step back. He had been dismissed.

Her black hair was tightly slicked back into a bun and there wasn't a wrinkle to be seen on her pristine lab coat. From the proper way she dressed to the graceful movements she made, everything about her screamed composure.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Choi, head of Experiment EXO," she greeted warmly with a smile. "You may be wondering why you were chosen for this. Simply because it is your destiny. Fate and science have brought us here today and believe it or not, this is a moment that will go down in history. You boys are very special, very special indeed. Out of the 7 billion people in this world, only the nine of you carry the EXO gene, something I discovered by pure luck. You see a decade ago, I was just a doctor but one day a young boy came to my hospital and that changed _everything_."

Her eyes met mine and I realized she was talking about me. Even though I was shocked, I showed no reaction, trying to keep my expression neutral. I stared at her intently but I didn't recognize her at all. Was I too young to remember or had she changed entirely?

Finally, she looked away from me and continued, "the boy's mother explained that her son had been feeling faint so she thought there was a chance he had anemia like his father. I tested his blood and he didn't have anemia but to my surprise the results were outstanding, like nothing I'd ever seen before. My curiosity got the better of me and I became obsessed. I ran experiment after experiment on it and discovered unimaginable things. The nine of you are truly filled with limitless possibilities."

The look on her face was one of tremendous joy and that alone was scarier than all of the guards in the room. My instincts told me that this woman, albeit small, could inflict pain in the worst ways possible. Looking at the bigger picture, physical suffering was insignificant because no matter how many hits I took, my body would heal. But my mind wouldn't.

This entire situation was my fault, so in a way I deserved it. Everything they were going to do to us, was on me. If I hadn't gone to her hospital, she wouldn't have discovered this gene in the first place and the nine of us wouldn't be standing in this room today. We would be anywhere but here and most importantly, we would be safe. 

 Although, I was just a child, at eleven-years-old how was I supposed to know that I would be the cause of my own suffering. Also, it was my mother's decision to take me to the hospital, not mine. When you're a kid you do what your parents tell you to, so I had no choice in the matter. 

Every moment that brought us here today somehow didn't seem like a coincidence. Since if a slight change in the past were to occur, a completely different story would have been told. If I had gone to a different hospital or if another Doctor had been assigned to me, this could have been avoided entirely. 

There were too many what ifs but they were all useless. I knew one thing for sure and that was the past would never change. Right now, there was only the present and the future. However, both looked bleak. Leading up to this point, there had been too many variables that had fallen into place for the nine of us to be gathered. It made me think maybe Doctor Choi was right, maybe this _was_ our fate. 

"I gave up my whole life for this project and you wouldn't believe the things I had to do to get here. Anyway, enough about that, it's all in the past now. Finally, I have the nine of you right where I want. So let's begin the experiment and see what you really are capable of," Doctor Choi concluded, keeping her gentle smile in place.

She was probably around thirty-five-years-old but even-so she was still very youthful. There were no wrinkles on her face and her skin was milky white. Some would even describe her as beautiful but I knew it was all a façade. Her beauty was a trick because lying underneath it I could tell was something ugly and evil.

Suddenly, someone lunged towards her whilst yelling in anger, "you have no right to do this!"

Vic stepped forward protectively and whipped out the baton from before. However, I realized it wasn't standard as electricity cackled from the weapon. He struck the attacker right in the stomach, making him crumble to the ground with a cry. Tremors ran through the boy's body and now that he was lying curled up on the ground, I could distinguish that it was Baekhyun.

After me, he had been the second taken. The two of us had spent the most time together and from what I could I tell, he was extremely bright. His personality was cheerful and funny which made him likeable. Even in this horrible situation, he had been able to make us laugh.

He wasn't always like that though. He was unexpectantly serious when he wanted to be and I could also tell that he was angry. His rage got in the way of logical thinking and it made him impulsive. I realized it the day we met, when the guards had come with food and he had rebelliously hurled it back at the cell door.

Nobody moved and the rest of us just stared as the scene unfolded. I was holding my breath waiting for reassurance that he was alright. Slowly Baekhyun tried to get up but his arms gave out from underneath him. Vic nudged his body with his foot like he was a piece of trash on the ground and I didn't want to watch anymore.

"Remember the rules? Respect and obey," he stated venomously.                                    

"Respect is earned," Baekhyun croaked. Even in his weak state he was still talking back. I didn't know whether it was admirable or just plain stupid. He added in a clearer voice, "plus why would I follow orders from a mutt like you?"

Rage flashed across Vic's face and he kicked him in the stomach so hard I was surprised I didn't hear the sound of bone cracking. An ear-piercing scream came out of Baekhyun but a moment later it was cut off by the current running through him. Vic had delivered another blow with the baton.

The look of pain on his face was too much to bare and I couldn't stand it. I had a strong urge to protect him because just standing by and watching was completely against my principles. Also, guilt weighed down on me, trying to swallow me whole as I thought: this was my doing.

On impulse I lunged forward just as Vic was about to strike again but he paused when saw me. I covered Baekhyun with my body in a defensive stance, not worrying about the consequences. An ache pierced my chest when I felt the electric vibrations from his trembling body. I shouted, "STOP! Just stop. Please, I beg of you."

I was ripped away from him by two guards, each holding me up on either side. I struggled against them, yelling at them to let me go, but it was no use. They were both nearly twice my size and since I've not had a proper meal in days, I was too weak.

Vic raised his hands and slowly clapped. Once. Twice. Three times.                                      
The sound was deafening to my ears and I prepared myself for pain.             

"How courageous of you. Now this is what I call real friendship," Vic mocked. He raised the baton towards me and I started fighting harder trying to escape the grip of the guards. "Well since you're offering to take the bullet for him, I'll make it count."

The pain was instant. I couldn't do anything but feel. My mind went blank and my body became limp as uncontrollable spasms rocked through me. I wanted to throw up but there was nothing in me, my stomach was empty. I could hear someone screaming in the background but as I became more alert, I realized it was me.

"Enough," a female voice ordered and I assumed it was Doctor Choi. The guards finally let go of me and I dropped to the ground with a thud. I stayed there unable to move, waiting for the pain to subside.                                                                                                   

At the snap of her fingers, I was being lifted from the floor. There was no fight left in me. I couldn't even feel the pain anymore as numbness spread through me. I was set down on something soft and I knew it had to be the hospital bed. The experiment was about to start.

They strapped me in with thick belts that were attached to bed, making sure all movement was restricted. I turned my head to the side to see the same was happening to all nine of us.

I knew there would be no point in resisting. There was no way I could break free from the restraints, especially in my exhausted state. I just laid there staring up at the ceiling, hoping for a miracle, hoping that someone would burst through the door and save us all. I prayed and begged, if there was a God or an Almighty being out there, now was the time to show up. 

But in the end, no one came to save us. We were on our own. It wasn't like in the books and movies where the good guys win, this was real life. This was our reality.

 


	3. Baekhyun

I had never felt pain like that before. The experiment hadn't even begun and I had already experienced the worst of it.

I knew it was stupid of me to insult him and I knew I would only get hurt but I didn't regret talking back. I needed these people to realize I wasn't just a weak boy that would easily submit to their every order. I wouldn't go down without a fight and I would do everything in my power to escape this place, even if it killed me.

Although, as I laid on the hospital bed, the pain was still ever-present and I didn't want to hurt anymore. I said I was willing to risk my life but deep down I was a coward because I wasn't willing to go through the pain that came with death. However, between torture and death, the latter was _always_ the better option.

If by some miracle, I survived, I knew after today I would never be the same again. I wouldn't be this innocent and cheerful boy anymore. This would change me, in more ways than I could imagine. I just didn't know how and if it would be for better or for worse.

I wasn't hopeful though because I knew the odds weren't in my favour. I couldn't even think of an outcome that would beneficial. If this experiment actually succeeded, that only meant I wouldn't be human anymore. I would be an abnormality, alienated from the only species I've ever known to be.

One by one, images assaulted my brain: claws, wings, fur, fangs. Suddenly I was hit with an absurd thought. They weren't going to turn me into a werewolf or some mystical woodland creature, were they? That _couldn't_ be their grand plan.

As my imagination ran wild, I sent a prayer out asking for luck, hoping they wouldn't turn me into something lame. Anything but a vampire, I begged. Those types of characters were fictional for a reason and they should stay that way. Also, surely that wasn't even possible? At this point I had no idea.

This was so ridiculous and surreal, to the point I started to find it funny. I was strapped to a bed waiting to be experimented on and wishing that I wouldn't turn into a blood sucking monster. A chuckle bubbled out of me and then I couldn't stop the hysterical laughter that followed. Was I going crazy? I think I had finally lost the plot. God, this was really bad.

A Caucasian man in a white lab coat approached me holding a tray with one single syringe. Fear assaulted my senses and I sobered instantly seeing the large needle. I tried to ignore the heavy feeling settling into my chest and I put on a brave face. The man didn't speak to me and hardly acknowledged my presence as he flittered around me.

"Every day you will be injected with a substance I developed called DD. Since I only had a small amount of blood samples to work with, we don't know the full extent of its effectiveness yet. Hopefully for your sake though, it will quickly activate the genes. If it doesn't, we will just have to keep trying every day, until success is achieved," Doctor Choi explained.

Even though I couldn't see her, anger coursed through my body at the sound of her voice. This was all her doing, we were being treated like guinea pigs in a lab, for the sake of her curiosity.

The man pulled up my sleeve and I looked away while he injected the blue serum into my body. I was surprised at how easy and painless it was, the only sting came from the needle. Once he was done, he left my side and I let out a breath of relief. However, that was when the first scream sounded.

My attention was pulled towards the noise and I stared in shock. I recognized him instantly from his cat like eyes and cute features, he was Xiumin. He had been lying still next to me but now his body was arching off the bed he occupied, twisting in ways I've never seen before.

His muscles bulged from battling the restraints securing him and every tendon in his body was rigidly stretched. I saw red and noticed his fingers were curled so tightly that his palms had started to bleed.

What really caught my eye though, was the vivid color of his veins. They were an unnatural shade of blue and it was even more prominent against his pale skin. It was as if the serum was dying his blood. Pain had possessed his body and his features were no longer pleasant as his face became distorted into an expression of pure agony.

Chaos broke loose and screams filled the room. It was like a chain reaction had been set off and every boy had become cursed with the torment DD inflicted.

It started with a tingling feeling as the serum slowly spread through my body. Something abnormal and unnatural had entered, moving and infusing into my blood. As the foreign particles hugged my cells, I could feel a slight shift in my anatomy.

Abruptly, pain exploded _everywhere_. I was naive to think I had already experienced the worst of it because what I had felt before was nothing compared to this. I couldn't even describe it.

It wasn't like a kick or punch, where the pain only affected one area. Instead every single fragment of my make-up hurt. My pulse was rapidly increasing and all I could hear was the thumping of my heartbeat. I could feel my blood pressure rising while my heart was trying to pump blood around my body, at a rate that was too fast. It was overworking and I was afraid it would stop functioning all together.

The pain was excruciating and I could feel my temperature rising. I was burning up, fast. It wasn't a heat like fire though, it was blinding, like light.

I felt as though every piece of me was being torn apart and rebuilt. Something was definitely changing from within and I couldn't bare the pain anymore. I wanted to crawl out of my body and rip my skin from the inside out but I couldn't even think to move. My mind was adamant, convincing me that I was paralyzed but at the same time I could feel my limbs thrashing uncontrollably. I just wanted it to stop but it didn't and I was afraid it never would.

In that moment, I hoped death would come soon because it would be a blessing. I begged for mercy, to be freed from the suffering. Although luckily for me, I didn't think I would survive this.

Out of nowhere, a image came to my mind, illuminating the darkness from within. Light surrounded me and I looked up to see the brightest star in the universe shining down on me. It was immense and undoubtedly the most exquisite thing I've ever seen. 

It felt so close, too close and I reached towards the star, enchanted. As I bathed in the brilliance and beauty of it, I experienced the true feeling of glory but it didn't last long. Suddenly, the light expanded, becoming too intense, burning straight through me and turning my bones to ash and dust.

With one last scream, I heard the sound of glass shattering and electricity humming.

And then there was nothing.

 


	4. Xiumin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I'm really sorry for the long wait for this chapter but I was really busy :( Don't worry though, I'm going to be more consistent/frequent with writing now that my time has freed up a bit!  
> DISCLAIMER: this chapter contains some swearing (not excessive - only twice) for dramatic effect. Not sure if there are any minors reading so let me know if you want me to change that so it's more appropriate for audiences.  
> Another disclaimer: as we progress, the chapters are getting longer (especially this one) but it because more characters are being introduced, I'm writing for a lot of people and each has a different story to tell so I can't really help but have unequal 'screen time', sorry! - exoxouniverse*

I woke up in shivers, realizing I was back in my cell. The ground was freezing, colder than usual and I couldn't stop shivering. Why was it so cold? I'd been able to bare it before but right now everything felt like ice.

I must've passed out earlier which I was grateful for because the pain was truly unbearable. After the injection, I honestly didn't think I was going to make it. It felt like I had been hanging onto my life by a thread. I couldn't go through that again because the next time, I knew I wouldn't survive it.

I wondered how much time had passed but I couldn't tell since there was no natural light. It could've been a few days or just a couple of hours, I had no idea.

In the centre of the room, I noticed a dimly lit lantern which struck me as odd. The entire time I'd been here, we had lived in darkness and they didn't seem to care. So why were they giving us this small privilege now? What did it mean?

I propped my body up against the wall so I was in a sitting position and assessed myself. My condition wasn't good, I still had lingering aftershocks of pain but thankfully it wasn't too intense. My muscles were coiled tight from the strain they had gone through but strangely, I didn't feel as weak as I did before.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and realized Chen had also woken up. He was occupying the cell next to mine, so when I arrived he was the first person I spoke to.

Chen was two years younger than me but he had a level of maturity that I appreciated. His personality seemed well balanced: he was serious when the situation called for it but his beagle like nature was obvious through his actions.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Like I should be dead," he groaned whilst getting up and mimicking my position. I nodded my head once in reply because I understood.

Even though we hardly knew each other, I already felt a strong bond forming with the other boys. The nine of us had been thrown into this unfathomable situation but since we were experiencing the same pain and torment, we could relate to one another. We were all feeling the same emotions and thinking the same thoughts. We truly were in this together.

I reached across the bars and squeezed his hand reassuringly but he flinched, quickly pulling away. I was only trying to comfort him so I didn't understand his reaction.

"Why the hell are you so cold?" he exclaimed, "that's not normal."

I stared at him confused. I had felt cold before but I thought that was to do with a drop-in room temperature. Was it me? I lifted my hands up to inspect them but they looked the same as usual, bar the red cuts from my fingernails.

"Hyung, something is happening," Chen stated with wide eyes. I looked down and he was right, something _was_ happening. The ground around me had become glazed over with ice particles. They weren't fully formed but they were definitely there, surrounding me. I shuffled away but it followed my movement forming a trail behind me. "Is that coming from _you_?"

"I—I don't know. It's not possible," I stuttered in disbelief. There was no other explanation though, the only thing in the cell was me. There wasn't anything else that could be causing this. Was this what Doctor Choi had meant when she said we were special?

"Yeah it's probably because it's getting colder outside, I mean it's nearly Winter," Chen said sounding unconvinced but I was thankful that he was trying to reassure me. "Although you have to consider, it might be something supernatural. We _were_ just experimented on, maybe it's actually working and what they told us is true."

It couldn't be. I was normal, _we_ were normal. Doctor Choi was just crazy and obsessed with the notion that we carried some rare gene. She was convinced we were different but we weren't.

"It's not true, you can't believe her," I said desperately trying to persuade him and myself. I looked down, willing the ice away but it didn't work. "If it was true, something would also be happening to you. You don't feel any different, do you?"

"No, except from the fact everything hurts, I feel the same," he replied. Why was it only me? Maybe I wasn't so normal after all.

Abruptly, from the cell opposite mine, Baekhyun shot up with a cry and the lantern in the middle of the room exploded. The glass from the light bulb shattered and darkness casted over us again.

"This is getting creepy, that couldn't have been a coincidence, right?" Chen asked warily.

Baekhyun winced from the sudden movement and I felt sorry for him since he had it worst out of us all. On top of the lingering pain from the experiment he was probably starting to feel the aftereffects of the horrible beating he received. With his face scrunched up, he questioned, "what just happened?"

"I don't know how but I think you just burst that light bulb," Chen answered in a serious tone.                                                                                                                 I couldn't see Baekhyun's reaction in the dark but I could tell he wasn't expecting that reply when he dumbly asked, "what?"

"You woke up and the light bulb exploded at the _same time_. If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Chen reasoned and even though it was beyond ridiculous, I was thinking the same thing.     

"Are you crazy, what are you even talking about?" Baekhyun said flustered and his voice grew higher in pitch.

"Right now, we don't know the effects of the experiment or what these so-called genes are supposed to activate but weird things keep happening. Xiumin with the ice and you with the exploding light. Doesn't it seem like too much of a coincident?" Chen concluded.

Baekhyun laughed hysterically in response and the sound echoed around the room. I heard movement and assumed the others were starting to wake up now.

"Are you trying to say we're developing powers?" Baekhyun asked incredulously. It did sound completely stupid but as I looked down to see the residue left from the ice, I was unsure. There hadn't been enough to form water but the slight condensation told me that it wasn't my imagination, it had been real.

"We're developing powers?" asked a lower voice I didn't recognize. Maybe it was the new kid, Chanyeol. Expect from Suho no one else had spoken to him yet. We had all been thrown into the deep end with this situation but at least the rest of us had time to prepare for the worst. He had arrived here without a clue what was happening and then straight away, he was taken to be experimented on.

"No, we're not," Baekhyun answered frustrated and suddenly something started to glow. It wasn't dark anymore, there was a faint light illuminating the room and it was coming from him. His hands were glowing.

"There's lights coming from his freaking hands," Chen whispered so only I could hear. "If that's not super powers, then I don't know what is..."

Even though the situation was serious, I was fighting the urge to laugh at his comment. I held it in though because it would've made things worse than it already was.

Baekhyun was now in full-fledge panic. He was jumping around his cell with flailing arms, shaking them vigorously, trying to make it stop. When that didn't work, he tried to command it, telling his hands to 'turn off' but they only grew brighter. As he got more and more worked up he started shouting at his hands, using as many variations of the phrase as possible: 'lights off', "lights out", "switch off".

He looked ridiculous and when he desperately shouted 'kill the lights', I couldn't hold it in any longer, I burst out laughing. Since meeting Baekhyun I could tell he was a funny guy and even simple things he did looked comical but this was a whole other level.

My laughter set Chen off too and soon everyone else had joined in. The sound was contagious and addictive, making the situation more amusing than it was. It felt strange, I had hardly smiled since I arrived here but right now I was doubled over in laughter.

Baekhyun slowly looked up from his hands and I stopped, we all did. I didn't want him to feel humiliated or that we were laughing at his extent. I was worried he'd be annoyed or angry but instead he cracked a smile and a laugh bubbled out of him. "This is ridiculous, isn't it? Lights are coming out my hands, for Christ's sake."

We all laughed at his comment and he quietly added, "what should I do?"

None of us knew the answer, this wasn't normal and I was reminded how serious the situation really was. Since I was oldest, I felt like it was my responsibility to take lead but it wasn't in my personality to do so. I opened my mouth to suggest something but someone else beat me to it.

"Calm down and take a breath, try slow your pulse to resting speed. It seems like the more worked up you get the brighter they glow," Suho suggested. Baekhyun sat down on his knees and inhaled deeply then let it out. He repeated it a few times while we all watched in silence. Surprisingly, it worked, the lights were starting to dim until they were fully off.

"OK, I take back what I said earlier," Baekhyun humorously declared, "I think we're developing powers."

This time I kept my laughter at bay because everyone else was silent. At his statement, reality was beginning to sink in. We were all trying to process this new information and what it could possibly mean. Even after witnessing what we just saw, I was certain a few of the other boys were still in denial.

"No shit Sherlock," Chanyeol muttered sarcastically. Since I didn't know him, I couldn't tell if his intentions were humorous or offensive. Baekhyun turned in his direction and retorted, "really, sarcasm? How original."

"What do you want us to say? That it's cool you've got your own personal light show going on," Chanyeol mocked.

"No but I know you have something you want to say, so just spit it out already," Baekhyun menacingly countered. I was surprised by the turn of events because we were laughing only a minute ago, this was the last thing I had expected. I didn't think that we would turn on each other so fast.

Although, I understood that emotions were running high and that just built unneeded tension between us. They were being impulsive and they weren't thinking before they spoke. Fights and arguments were inevitable, especially when nine boys, each with differing opinions, were gathered together.

"Well since you asked, I'll tell. Obviously, _you're_ developing powers but the rest of us seem just fine. What the woman said was right. Y _ou're_ different. Don't you think it's unfair that we're all locked up here, when the other eight of us are normal?" Chanyeol ranted.

I flinched at his words because it wasn't only Baekhyun who was different, it was me too. Chen looked in my direction but I didn't meet his gaze. He had seen the ice and he knew it was me that caused it. So if he mentioned what had happened earlier, I wouldn't be able to deny it.

I hoped he wouldn't because I didn't want to admit it. Thinking it was one thing but actually saying it aloud, only confirmed it was real. Thankfully he looked away and decided to say nothing. Already, I could see that he had loyalty and I owed him for that.

"How do you know that?" Baekhyun retaliated and by the tone of his voice I could tell he was getting angry. Then he spitefully added, "you shouldn't speak so fast, you might just end up the same as me."

"Well for one, I don't see beams of light shooting out my hands," Chanyeol taunted with a mocking laughing. Baekhyun's hands were starting to glow again making me feel anxious. The rest of us had no idea what to do or how to stop this argument.

"Who do you think you are? Show some fucking respect, I don't even know you and you're trying to pick a fight," Baekhyun angrily hissed. The light was getting brighter and brighter but that didn't stop Chanyeol's last blow as he echoed Baekhyun's words from before, "respect is earned." 

I was brought back to the memory of Baekhyun curled up on the ground trembling after being electrocuted. He was barely strong enough to speak but he had stood up for himself when no else one did. He had muttered those three words to the people who had taken us and known that the only outcome for him was more pain. However, he said it anyway and that was admirable and brave.

But now, in the heat of the moment, Chanyeol was throwing those words back in his face like they meant nothing, when they did. They gave us hope, that we wouldn't be belittled by the monsters who locked us up in cages and that we could fight the ones who oppressed us. That we could survive this and come out _alive_.

At those three words, the anger coming off of Baekhyun exploded in the form of light launching him backwards against the wall behind him. It was blinding, intense to the point I could feel the heat coming from him. It wasn't like earlier where it just came from his hands but his whole body was illuminated. I shuffled back, away from it and closed my eyes before I was blinded. Although, even with my eyes closed all I could see was light.

"Baekhyun! Baekhyun!" Suho yelled. "Stop! You're hurting us. Calm down, just breathe." I wasn't sure how long the rest of us could withstand this, the light was too powerful. However, there was something else about it that I couldn't put my finger on. It wasn't just normal light, it was like a substance that felt painfully purifying. 

"I can't stop it! I can't control it," Baekhyun cried. "He's right I'm different! Look what I've become, look what they turned me into. I'm not human anymore, I'm a monster."

He was distraught and I knew that he was in full fledge panic. It seemed as though his powers were heightening all his other senses, especially his emotions. The light we were basking in was an insight to everything he was feeling: anger, pain, guilt, sadness, panic and fear. It was all jumbled together floating around us and it felt like I was a part of it, experiencing the same as he did.

The situation was becoming desperate since it was completely out of our control. All I knew was we needed him to calm him down. I shuffled forward, with my eyes still closed, until I reached the metal bars of my cell getting as close to him as possible.

"Baekhyun, listen to me," I said in a firm voice. "You are not alone. We are all here and we are experiencing the same thing. It's not only you that is different and you're no monster, you're just a _kid_. Don't be afraid. You can control it, don't let them win because if they do then we truly have no hope left."

I put my hand on the ground and willed something to happen. Surprisingly something did. My body turned cold, freezing, it was like everything from inside out was chilled, painfully and numbingly so. I pushed through it though, trying to ignore the discomfort. Something was growing, forming and expanding. Ice. With my eyes closed I couldn't see what was happening but I could feel it. Like it was a part of me, an extension of my existence.

"I'm not alone..." Baekhyun mumbled with a trembling voice. The light behind my eyes was starting to dim and I opened them cautiously. I saw a path of ice had formed from my cell to his but without even meaning to, I had shaped a hand out of ice. It was my hand and it was linked around Baekhyun's in a comforting embrace.

He was on the ground shaking as though he had been hurt and I think he was. Like how the ice had been painfully cold for me, I think the light was too intense, even for him. His cheeks were wet with the residue of tears and I felt a pang right in my heart. An ache of sorrow. I wanted to comfort him but from my cell there was nothing I could do. A tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away before anyone could notice. I was surprised, I didn't usually cry but this was different. His pain echoed within me.

Suho reached across the bars into Baekhyun's cell and took his hand in comfort, replacing the one made of ice. I looked around to see the other boys wore expressions filled with shock. Especially Chanyeol. Suddenly he dropped to his knees with a thud and we all watched him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered but we could all hear it loud and clear. His words penetrated the quiet of the room and the guilt on his face was evident. He brought his body down to the ground in a full bow of apology, surprising me.

"I'm sorry," he repeated but this time he spoke firmly until his voice cracked at the end. He stayed in that position until Suho instructed, "get up, Chanyeol."

He did and now I could see his face was also wet with silent tears. He wiped them away with his sleeve, embarrassed and regained composure. Then Suho continued in a strong voice, "we only have each other. It's us against them. We can't turn on one another when it already feels like the whole world has turned on us. We are stronger if we stand together and we maybe even have a chance against them if we're united. Let this be a lesson learned, that fighting between us is useless and harmful. We don't know the extent of these powers and they can hardly be controlled. However, there's no point in panicking over it, let's be logical and let's stay calm. We'll wait for their next move so we can plan ours. We could fight all we want but nothing will be achieved unless we stand as one."

I instantly felt better hearing those words. Suho was well spoken but more importantly he was right. We would we would fight and we would escape this place and we would do it together.

*********

It felt like a day had passed, guards had come and gone with food twice. Unexpectedly, our portion sizes had increased, with the majority being protein but I couldn't complain, food was food. I would eat what they gave since survival was key. 

Things had slowly started to patch up between the boys. We all knew that we were being impulsive and acting on our emotions so fortunately no one held grudges. I tried testing my powers with Chen's help but I couldn't summon it. The ice didn't show again after my big display earlier, no matter how hard I tried.

Not long after we finished our second meal, they came for us. Like the same as before, Vic and a group of guards led us to the experimentation room. This time they didn't bother with introductions and directly strapped us to the beds. None of us were stupid enough to put up a fight seeing number of guards with weapons. There was a time and place to fight and this was not it. We would have to catch them off guard and we would have to plan for it to work.

As we being strapped in, Doctor Choi spoke, "we've been monitoring you for the past few days and I'm happy say we've seen advancements and inklings of success. Subject 04 has already shown positive results, with Photokinesis: light manipulation. We were wondering which one of you made all the lights in the building explode during the last experiment. We even placed lamp in the cell room as a test but little did we know it wasn't need. You brought out the powers in each other with your squabbling." 

She was awfully chipper and her feminine voice was grating on my ears. I hadn't realised they had cameras and people monitoring us. The thought hadn't occurred until now which was stupid. Of course they were, we were subjects of an experiment. No different to lab rats. They were watching our every move so we would have to be more careful I thought.

"Another success, Subject 99, with Cryokinesis: ice manipulation. How marvellous but it seems as though your powers have not fully developed," Doctor Choi said. I clenched my fist at her mention but showed no reaction otherwise as I stared at the ceiling. I didn't know what we were in for today but I prepared myself for the worst.

"Unfortunately, some of the others have shown no results and it seems their genes are taking longer to activate. So we'll keep repeating the first phase of experiments until your powers fully develop," Doctor Choi stated.

My worst nightmare had come true. We were to go through with the experiment not only once but multiple times. I said before I wasn't sure if I would survive a next time. Now there were multiple next times and I feared for my life.

The same Asian doctor who had been assigned to me the other day injected the blue serum into me again.

And so again, it begun. Pain. There was only pain.

 


	5. Chen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This chapter took so long to write, I guess you could say I was having 'writer's block' so it was quite hard to get through :( Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy - exoxouniverse*

Life was becoming routine. Every day I would regain consciousness feeling exhausted and weak from yesterday’s experiment. They would allow us to rest and recover our strength before injecting us with another dose of DD. Then this cycle would repeat over and over again.

I had already lost count of the amount of times I had been experimented on and at this point, it felt as though my blood ran blue instead of red. Usually if we were lucky, we would pass out from the pain and wake up the next morning without feeling a thing. That wasn't always the case though, there were days we would have to live through every minute of the torture and feel it in every cell of our bodies. Those days were the worst.

However, we were starting to build a tolerance as time passed. The effects of DD were becoming less severe and the pain was also getting easier to endure. We were also getting stronger and often someone would discover a new power. Each boy with a different ability: fire, water, earth, teleportation and healing.

Now only two were left without powers. One was Sehun, who was the youngest, he had just turned 18 a few days after he was captured. He hadn't even graduated school yet and sadly, I didn't think he would get to.

Already, I felt a strong sense of protectiveness over him, especially because he couldn't tolerate pain well so he was having a hard time adapting. We all tried to help as much as possible and made sure that he knew he could rely on us but there was only so much we could do.

The other was me. Every day I would wait for a change, a spark of something supernatural but nothing happened. I was the same as before and I was starting to worry. It just didn't make sense, at least a month had passed and I had been experimented on almost every day. 

Why was everyone else developing powers except me? The thought that I didn't have the EXO gene was always in the back of my mind. Maybe they made a mistake and took the wrong boy. You'd think it would be a good thing, that I wasn't some weirdo who could shoot fire or water out of my hands but it wasn't.

It only meant that I was disposable. If I really was an error in the experiment, they would kill me without a blink of an eye. They wouldn't be stupid enough to let me back into the world and allow me roam freely with the knowledge I had learned. I wouldn't be trusted, I was too much of a liability. The only logical measure that ensured secrecy would be my death.

I was desperate and scared but there was nothing I could do. Everyone else was only getting stronger, discovering new sides to their powers while I just sat by and watched. I didn't mind but I also didn't want to die at the mere age of nineteen. I was too young and there were still too many things I wanted to do.

Instead of feeling useless, I tried helping the others in any way I could. When Xiumin tested out his abilities I would aid him and give him advice. Sometimes it worked but other times it didn't, it was completely trial and error. At first, he was only able to produce ice particles but now he could to form solid objects at will.

There was a problem though, it was hurting him. The stronger his powers got the more pain he felt when he used them. It was as if his body wasn't adjusted to the extreme cold that it was producing so it rejected the abnormality. It was only getting worse, to the point the pain was too intense to endure. So, he avoided using it completely.

However, sometimes it couldn't be ignored. He didn't have full control over his powers yet, so without meaning to he would freeze random objects or he would produce sudden outbursts of ice. Sometimes it was funny but other times it was dangerous, especially when it was aimed at one of us.

Also, there were times I had woken up from discomfort to realize he had frozen the ground beneath him and the ice was seeping into my cell. In those times, I thanked God that Chanyeol's power was fire and he could help with melting or else we'd both have frostbite by now.

It wasn't only Xiumin though, it was everyone else too. No one could fully control their abilities and it was hurting them. This was a serious problem because powers like fire were wild and dangerous when uncontrolled. That’s the reason why little kids are taught that they shouldn’t play with fire.

At first, Chanyeol hardly had any control over it but he was better now. He repeatedly practised until there were burn marks on his skin from the extreme heat coursing through his body. He didn't want to hurt anyone and that was the price he had to pay.

My impression of Chanyeol had changed a lot since we first met. He was someone who was funny, easy going and bright but sometimes he let his emotions override his personality. Now that I knew him better, I could tell he really did have a good heart.

Shuffling sounds caught my attention and I turned to see Sehun, in the cell next to mine, sleeping. I studied him as he tossed and turned, making quiet whimpering noises and I could tell he was having a nightmare.

For us, they were pretty common. I don't think it was possible to live through this without it haunting us in our dreams too. I wasn't sure if there would ever be a time I would have a peaceful sleep again but right now, that was the least of my worries.

A chill ran through me and I realized there was a breeze in the air. Surely, it was my imagination, we were underground and there weren't any windows down here. How could there possibly be wind?

My hair started to blow and goose bumps rose along my skin, making my hairs stand in attention. It started getting stronger and more forceful, to the point I had to reach for the metal bars of my cell to stay stable. I saw the others doing the same and Chanyeol shouted, "what the hell is happening?"

"I don't know, is it another power?" Xiumin yelled back. This wasn't a surprise anymore, it happened quite often actually. Something weird would occur and it was usually the result of someone's new found ability.

This one was stronger than the others though, similar to Baekhyun's light intensity. It was like a mini cyclone had hit the room and I was seriously worried we would all start flying from the force of the wind.

I held on tighter to the bars and looked over to noticed Sehun was still curled up in a ball, asleep. His eyes were moving quickly behind his eyelids and his body was still restless. Trying to be heard over the noise, I declared loudly, "it's Sehun."

"Get him to stop!" Suho exclaimed from opposite my cell. While fighting against the force that was pushing me back, I crawled over to the other side of my cell and tried to get as close to him as possible.

I reached my arm through the bar but it was met with resistance. A wall of air was surrounding Sehun's sleeping body, protecting him. This made things much more difficult than expected, especially since I felt the pressure from the energy pulsing around him and it wasn't yielding.

I could tell he wasn't aware of the situation since he was too deep in his subconscious thoughts. I pushed against the barrier with all my strength and I felt it bend around my arm. A strange sensation crawled against my skin, making my limbs tingle. The tension between my assault and the barrier started to build and with one last push, I got through.

Quickly I grabbed onto his leg and shook it, trying to wake him up. I yelled his name but he couldn't hear me at all. Suddenly the tingling in my limbs got stronger and it felt like my whole body was buzzed up with energy. Electrical energy.

I couldn't help what happened next, I had no control over it. A burst of pain zapped through my body which was connected to Sehun's and he cried out in agony. Then everything stopped and the room was silent. Calm. It was eerie, the contrast from the chaos a second ago was too drastic.

My nerve endings felt like they had been fried and vibrations were traveling through my body. I was shaking but I couldn't stop, I didn't know how to. What was happening? I looked down to see my hand were glowing, not like Baekhyun's though, they were sparking.

Electricity was rolling over my palms and I realized the gene had finally been activated. It seemed that Sehun had something to do with it, I just wasn't sure what.

Without meaning to I had formed balls of energy in my hands and I panicked. What was I supposed to do? I tried to make it stop but it wouldn't go away, instead they just continued to grow. Finally, Xiumin spoke up cautiously, "Chen, what are you doing?"

"I don't know, it's not me. I can't stop it," I defended. I had to clear my mind and think logically. What was the best thing to do when someone had balls of energy forming from their hands? I had no clue. Why couldn't they have taught _this_ in school instead of math.

"It's fine. Remember how you helped me, you already know what to do. Focus on the energy and make it bend to your will," Xiumin said calmly. I closed my eyes and started to concentrate on the energy and I could feel it pulsing through my body. It felt like it was part of me and it was everywhere. There was too much buzzing, how was I supposed to focus?

"Chen," Baekhyun said warningly and I opened my eyes. The balls of energy had grown even bigger and in my panicked state I knew I wouldn't be able to stop it. I could feel it in my gut, my body wanted to release it. The energy needed to be free and I needed to quickly disperse it. In a rush, I yelled, "everyone, get down!"

They did as I told and dropped to the ground. When I was sure the others were in guarded positions, I set my focus towards the metal bars in front. I aimed my arms forwards and let go.

Blasts of electricity came out from my hands in streams. Only then did I realize, it wasn't just electricity, it was lightning. It was brilliant and it was beautiful. It was a part of me.

Since the cells were connected, it conducted the current through the metal, lighting up the whole room with blue sparks. I prayed that no one was touching the bars because I knew for sure that this hit would sting.

It was painful but at the same time it was a relief. I let everything go until there was nothing left in me. Exhausted I crumpled to my knees and I felt like I was going to vomit but I took deep breaths to regain my composure.

After I had finally calmed down, I turned to see Sehun was curled up in a ball, unmoving. I scrambled over and reached through the bars, pulling his body towards me. Panicking I checked his pulse and sighed in relief when I felt it thrumming against his skin. I shook him once and there was no reaction, I think he may have passed out from the shock I gave him. Suho cleared his throat and asked, "is he alright?"

"He's alive," I stated vaguely. I wasn't sure how badly he was injured but he was still breathing and I grasped onto that. Guilt swarmed my gut as I looked as his lifeless body. I shook him once more and called him name. Slowly his eyes opened and relief flooded through me. Confused he croaked, "what happened?"

I explained in detail that he had finally developed his power, most likely wind or weather manipulation and somehow it might have triggered mine too. I apologised profusely for electrocuting him and he reassured me he was OK and he hardly felt it.

After a while Sehun wondered, "what happens now? They succeeded, the gene has been activated in all of us and we each have different powers. What do they want with us now?"

"Well, I guess this is what they truly meant by 'limitless possibilities'," Xiumin stated with an exhausted sigh. We had changed a lot in the short time since we arrived. Not just physically but in every aspect. We became stronger mentally, weeks of torture ensured that nothing could really hurt us anymore. At this point, I wasn't sure what the true meaning of pain was because it was so constant it felt like living meant pain.

However, at the same time I felt fragile, like at any moment I could just break. We all had our low points, moments were the tears wouldn't stop and we would allow each other that time for the despair to take over. It was understandable, we all had been stripped of our lives, futures and families.

In these times, I realized crying didn't mean that you were weak. It meant that you felt deeply and you still cared. So, I welcomed it because it showed that I was still me. I wasn't the abnormality they turned me into, I was who I had always been.

A boy from Siheung who loved music and his mother's cooking. Someone who was taught to be kind and compassionate because it was what the world needed more of. I still had the fight in me and no matter what pain they inflicted, I would remember who I was, who I am. It was my personal source of hope that I held onto.

"Have they actually succeeded though?" Suho questioned. "The experiment is flawed. It's mostly based on trial and error because we are the first subjects. All of us are controlled by our powers and we hardly have a grasp on them. Plus, something isn't right, we feel pain every time we even try to use them. So what they have is dysfunctional, the experiment is a fail, the results are negative."

"If we're a fail, then that means they'll kill us all," I feared. I didn't want to scare the others but it wasn't something that could be ignored any longer. We needed to find a solution and quick.

"We have to escape before they get the chance to then," Sehun said desperately. I could see the others thinking it through. We had always talked about it but we didn't have a solid plan. There wasn't enough information about the building layout or the technology they had access to. This was something that needed to be thought out carefully and with precision because one mistake was all it took to end up dead.

"Let's not be rash, we have to think this through more. We need a plan and a good one at that," Xiumin advised and I agreed but not everyone else did. With nine boys there were a lot of differing opinions and that led to bickering and arguments.

In the end we agreed that we wouldn't do anything until we knew more about the situation. The most important factor was the escape route and we only knew the way to the experimentation room, so we made that our priority.

*********** **

"How are you feeling boys?" Doctor Choi asked cheerfully and it was met with stony silence. I hated her guts, she was worse than Vic, who openly harassed us but she did it while pretending she was kind. How could she ask that question with a smile on her face, when she saw first-hand the pain she put us through.

"We are very happy with the progress you've made in the past month. It was difficult but all worth it in the end, right?" she smiled proudly. I glared holes through her head, wishing death upon her and suddenly my hands started to spark.

"Now, now Subject 21 that not very polite is it?" she asked and I clenched my jaw hard. "Plus, we don't want to restrain you, that's never fun for any of us."

"Anyway, we can finally move onto Phase Two of the experiment now. I've been waiting for this day for a while now. Follow me," she said excitedly. They started leading us through hallways that I had never seen before. Too focused on memorising the route I had long forgotten about the electricity sparking through me and my hands went back to normal.

Two guards opened a set of double doors as we approached and we entered a large room. It was empty but what stood out most was that everything was concrete: the ceiling, walls and floor.

"Here we’ll be testing the extent of your abilities. Subject 01, let's start with you," Doctor Choi said and her voice echoed all around us due to the large empty room.

Even though his number was called, Suho didn't move. Vic asked menacingly, "Subject 01, is there a problem?"

He didn't answer and stared straight ahead. Doctor Choi shook her head lightly and said, "we don't want to use force or hurt you but if you don't do as we ask, we'll have to."

"You can hurt me all you want. There's no difference because either way, I'm the one who suffers while you stand by and watch. Use my powers and I'll feel pain, get a beating and again _I'll_ feel pain, so what's the point? There's no win in this situation for me," Suho responded in a dull voice.

"Oh no, you're mistaken dear. I wasn't talking about hurting you but I can't say the same for the others..." she said and nodded her head once. On order a guard reacted and tazed Chanyeol with his baton. He fell to his knees, face scrunched up but he made no noise otherwise. The guard's next victim was Baekhyun, he was prepared for the blow so he stayed standing but the pain was apparent in his expression.

"OK, stop. I get it," Suho pleaded and stepped forward. He walked towards the centre of the room and turned back to face the Doctor. "What do you want to see?"

"As much as you can show," Doctor Choi replied with curiosity gleaming in her eyes. Suho faced the other side of the wall and held out his hands with a concentrated expression.

Water started shooting out, forming two powerful streams but there was no control over the direction and shape it was taking. The force of the blasts became too powerful and started pushing his body backwards but he fought against the pressure.

Suddenly he collapsed to his knees as he was barely able to hold his upright position. He wasn't strong enough to fight against the tension and his body was giving up. I noticed he was gasping for air while choking and realized he couldn't breathe. It looked like he was drowning and if he continued this any longer he was going to suffocate.

Finally, he let go and the water dropped, splashing everywhere, wetting the concrete ground. Suho's legs gave out from underneath him and he greedily gulped in as much oxygen as possible while clutching onto his chest. Only when he was stable again he weakly rose to his feet.

I turned to look at Doctor Choi and saw that her expression was displeased. I couldn't tell if she was disappointed or discouraged, maybe a bit of both. It wasn't what she had expected, she thought our abilities were fully functional but they weren't.

She thought she had succeeded but she didn't. I felt smug seeing her like this and I wanted to laugh in her face but of course, I held back. I couldn't stop the small smile from forming on my lips though and I let it show. The joke was truly on her. She had gone through all of this just for it to fail.

After, we were each tested, showing the extent of our abilities. Some were more powerful than others but in the end the result was all the same. The pain always won.

Thankfully, we were dismissed after the little show and tell. I had no idea what was going to happen next, this was an unforeseen situation and they were at a standstill. I knew they would think of something though since they were desperate for success.

They would go to extreme lengths if they had to since they didn't care about cruelty. They treated us as 'subjects' and the moment they injected us with that horrendous blue serum the meaning of humanity was lost to them.

*********** **

"Last week we tested your abilities for the first time and we saw that they were effecting you more than they should. However, you don't have to worry, we'll do whatever it takes to fix that," Doctor Choi reassured. By now, I was starting to get used to the way she talked, as if she was trying to help _us_. I knew she looked innocent but the intentions behind her words weren't.

"All of you will go through a set of experiments specifically designed for each individual. They will hopefully force your bodies to adapt to the environment it's in when you're using your powers. By the end of Phase Two I can assure you that it won't hurt anymore. If all goes to plan, you'll be glad to hear this is the last set of experimentation we will put you through," she explained but I didn’t believe her. I knew there would be yet another thing to ‘fix’ or ‘modify’.

We were split up and lead into different rooms. Mine was near empty except from the metal fence opposite the door. It was small and dimly lit with only one overhead lamp, giving off an ominous vibe.

The guards forcefully chained me up so that my wrists were cuffed to the fence. I could already predict what was going to happen when I noticed the clamps and the voltage box beside me. Dread filled my stomach and I let me eyes close.

"Subject 21, Electrokinesis: the ability to manipulate lightning and electric currents. Useful and dangerous, quite a handy skill to acquire," spoke the Doctor assigned to me.

This was the first time I had ever heard his voice so I was surprised. Compared to the others, he was on the older side with greying hair and wrinkled skin. I could tell he was of Spanish descent with his tanned skin and dark brown eyes but he spoke Korean well, even though it was accented.

“Let’s begin, shall we,” he said clapping his hands together once. “Don’t look so scared, we’re starting off easy, I promise.” He turned the dial on the machine and electricity started sparking through the metal clamps. On instinct I retreated away from it but my body started to buzz, something from within was waking up.

When the metal touched my skin, it felt like it was burning but at least I could bare the pain. It was a similar feeling to when I used my powers so my body was already accustomed to it. I gritted my teeth as the current ran through me, charging me up like a battery.

All of a sudden, the Doctor amped up the voltage and I screamed I pain. At this rate, my flesh was going to peel off my bones. The energy within me and the outside source was reacting against each other, colliding and interacting. 

My whole body was vibrating as sparks lit up the surface of my skin, cackling and sizzling. The electricity was building up inside of me with no place to go and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I had to let it free, it wasn't meant to be contained so I let go. Lightning erupted from my body and it truly felt exquisite. 

 


	6. Sehun

I was bored.

All day, every day we sat in our cells with nothing to do and I think I was slowly going insane. Life was so dull and sometimes the boredom felt even worse than the experiments. OK, that was a lie but you get my point.

I was sitting against the wall of my cell and my hand was absentmindedly spinning, creating a miniature tornado. A lot of the time I did this without realizing. To me, it was the same as twirling a pen between your fingers or fidgeting.

Using my power didn't hurt anymore and now it had become familiar to me. It was fun to mess about with and using it was becoming a force of habit. Also, there was always a constant tugging from within, the wind was calling to be used.

Of course, this had come with a price though. What they called 'Phase Two' of the experiment was actually just torture. At least for me it was easier to endure compared to Phase One but for others it was a lot worse. Chen was subject to Parrilla torture where he was strapped to a metal frame and electrocuted. Every day they would amp up the voltage until he could endure the pain and became resistant to it.

On the very first day, he had actually nearly killed his doctor. He only told us a few days after it happened though, when Xiumin noticed he was assigned a new one. Even though he was the one being electrocuted to the point of near-death, he felt guilty about it.

If I could use one word to describe Chen, it would be kind. Sometimes he was too nice for his own good. He cared about people and it was his nature to do so. Above all his other traits, this one especially shone through. Personally, I wouldn't feel bad if every single person in this building burned alive. It was what they deserved for doing this to us.

When we asked about it, Chen told us vaguely what happened. The doctor had attached the clamps to his skin and let the current run. However, doing that only pumped electricity into his body and charged him up like a battery.

He said wasn't able to hold it in or control it so he 'exploded', literally. He said all he could see and feel was lightning, I didn't know what that meant but I had nodded along like I understood. Unluckily the doctor, who was in close proximity, became collateral damage and fried like a crisp.

Chen said he was actually surprised he didn't die because the injury was severe. He told us the sight was horrific and the doctor had acquired numerous burn marks from the electrocution. However, after that incident they quickly learned how to inflict torture on Chen effectively.

Every experiment was designed to suit each individual so they were all different. Suho was drowned repeatedly for days and Chanyeol was exposed to extreme heats that left burn marks all over his skin. That was when the ability to heal especially came in handy. When our results were becoming stagnant, they found even more creative ways to inflict pain, ways I could've never imagined.

Every day we would be separated and led into our different rooms. Only when we were all back in our cells we were able to see the damage they had done to each of us. I badly wanted to hurt them like they hurt us. It really caused my heart to ache seeing my older brothers in such pain and I worried over them a lot.

Since I was the youngest, I knew they tried not to put their burden on me but I saw it anyway. I prayed every night, asking for safety and hoping that one day we could escape this horrible place. More importantly that no one died before we did.

Feeling bored, I casted my attention away from my dire thoughts. I noticed Kyungsoo Hyung sleeping in the cell beside me and a fun idea came to mind. I stopped my hand movements and instead concentrated on the air around him. My power was what they called 'Aerokinesis'. The ability to create, wield and shape air. That's why I could manipulate wind since it was one and the same thing.

Using my mind, I formed a hand from the air and poked his cheek gently, testing out the waters. Sometimes my powers felt like invisibility but _way_ cooler. Was I being biased? I mean, I didn't even need to move to play a prank on someone. Since Kyungsoo showed no reaction, I poked him again but this time harder. His eyes fluttered and he tried smacking the hand away but there was nothing there.

I continued to annoy him, with little pokes and tickles all over his body and he was becoming more agitated and conscious by the second. The expression he was making, even in his sleep, was too funny and I tried not to let a laugh slip.

His brows were creased into a frown but it just made him look cute. Out of the nine of us, Kyungsoo was funniest to tease but Suho was definitely in close competition. He was so easy to wind up and his reactions were always the best. Also, he never took it too seriously since he knew we were just joking.

There was one-time Chanyeol did take it too far though and set him on fire...by accident. Thankfully, Suho stopped it with water before it could do any harm but Kyungsoo retaliated by making a huge rock and launching it at him between the metal bars. Chanyeol had dodged it just before it hit him right in the face and his expression had been priceless. I had laughed so hard watching from the side-lines and seeing them play Tom and Jerry was always the best form of entertainment.

After that incident, every time we annoyed him, Kyungsoo would just form rocks and throw them at us. They were usually the size of a pebble, never big enough to do real damage and he made sure not to hit _that_ hard but hard enough so that it would hurt at least a little. It was a warning not to mess with him but we did it anyway.

Now that he was more awake, I prepared for the final blow. Melding the hand of air so it became flat, I gathered the air around him and garnered a stronger force. I let go of the pressure and it smacked Kyungsoo right on his left ass cheek. Instantly, he shot up and shouted angrily, "who was that?"

Everyone else was confused by his sudden outburst and I schooled my face into a neutral expression. Chen asked puzzled, "what are you talking about?"

"Who did it? Who smacked my ass?" Kyungsoo demanded in a serious tone. The gazes that met his were bewildered and I was trying my hardest to hold back my laughter.

"I think he's gone crazy," Baekhyun laughed, "what type of kinky shit are you dreaming about?"

At that, I burst out laughing and I couldn't stop. The cat was out the bag and I knew I was in deep shit when Kyungsoo thundered my full name, "Oh Sehun!"

I laughed even more whilst the others were finally starting to catch on and joined in. I had used my power before for smaller pranks since I was mischievous by nature but never to that extent. Suddenly, a pile of small rocks came flying towards me and hit me all over my body. I winced even though it wasn't actually sore but it did sting and sometimes those were the worst types of pains, like papercuts and beestings.

I got up and tried to dodge them but they kept coming and I started getting frustrated at the never-ending stream of rocks. I ran from one side of my cell to the other but they followed me everywhere I went. I ducked and dive but it was no use. As I made a fool out of myself, I heard chuckles in the background and realized now I was the one being laughed at. Taking a defensive stance, I curled up into a ball and let the rocks rain down on me. Having had enough I yelled, "truce!"

Finally, it stopped and the rest fell to the floor. Kyungsoo laughed and I grudgingly whined, "great, now there's rocks everywhere. How am I going to sleep?"

"Not my problem," he said with a shrug but he let a grin slip through. I huffed irritated, picking up a rock and chucked it at him but it didn't get far. I missed and instead it rebounded off the metal bar of my cell hitting me right on my forehead.

On reaction I yelped because that blow hurt more than what Kyungsoo was doing before. The others cracked up and I could see from the corner of my eye that Chanyeol was on the ground laughing. I rolled my eyes and rubbed at my forehead, feeling wronged. Suddenly, I could hear crunching noises and I saw that the rocks were being crushed, becoming piles of dust. Then Kyungsoo bargained, "truce?"

"Truce," I repeated and smiled instantly. I looked and the dust covering the ground around me and asked, "wanna see something cool?"

Before anyone could answer, I blew up the dust and swirled it up into the air. I formed shapes and made patterns, letting it weave in and out around the metal bars. Even though it was basically dirt, there was a beauty to it, in the way it moved and glided effortlessly on my command. In moments like these, I always felt in awe of the things I could do now and became mesmerized by my own abilities. It made me realize that there truly was beauty in all things, even things that have caused you pain.

There were actually a lot of moments like this. When we were bored, as a form of entertainment, we would showcase our powers for each other to see. Baekhyun would project lights onto the ceiling and it they would twinkle, just like stars. He also put on shows and told stories, bending the light to form characters from shadows and it was the closest form of entertainment we could get to a TV.

We would each take turns showing off and at this point we were basically a circus. Even though it was all fun and games, it always reminded me of how beautiful existence was. The way water moved and flowed, how it turned from liquid to solid, the way electricity sparked and how fire burned vibrantly.

All of these were elements of nature and it made me miss the outside: the feeling of sunshine on my skin, the sound of rain and even breathing fresh air. Being locked away for so long, I had nearly forgotten what it felt like. Finally, finished with my parade, I let the stream dust drop into a pile outside my cell and without the 'magic' it looked exactly like what it was, dirt.

*********

"Rise and shine boys," Vic sung whilst entering the room. "Today we're doing something different, something fun."

He clapped his hand once and rubbed them together whilst the guards forced us into a line like usual. However, today _was_ different. They handcuffed us up which they had never done before so I started to feel anxious.

Vic led us up the stairs like usual but instead of taking the first right, we took a left. Then we walked along a different route, one I had never seen before. I wondered how big this building actually was because it seemed as if there was a never-ending number of hallways.

After a few other turns we stopped at a large concrete wall and I puzzled why had they led us to a dead-end? Abruptly, the wall started moving, making me realize it wasn't a wall at all but an opening. I covered my eyes as the light from beyond started seeping in, it was bright outside, a brightness I hadn't seen in months. Day light. I couldn't believe it, we were going outside.

Wasn't this our chance, to make a run for it? After all this time being locked up we were finally getting out. We had to take this opportunity. Who knew when there would be another one? The guards forced us forward when the exit was fully opened and for some reason I felt nervous.

I looked over at Suho, trying to communicate to him silently. In that moment, I was seriously questioning how was it that none of us had telepathy. That would have made things so much easier. Oh well, body language would have to do, so I widened my eyes and slightly nudged my head towards the outside. He shook his head slightly and I understood him instantly, he thought it was too risky.

It was risky but wasn't the risk worth it? I listened to him and decided not to do anything, yet. They led us to a black van and after we all piled on, they slammed the doors shut. Before I could voice my opinion, Baekhyun urged, "this is our chance guys, it's the best opportunity we'll have to escape."

"It's too risky, there're guards everywhere. We have to think this through since we're really outnumbered," Xiumin countered.

"We will always be outnumbered, so it's not a factor to consider. There's only nine of us and hundreds of them but we have abilities now, so we can use them to overpower the guards," Baekhyun convinced. Nodding my head, I agreed entirely with him.

Although we did have powers, we could only control them to an extent. Small things were easy: manipulating areas of air, creating miniature tornados or a slight breeze. However, I didn't know the limits of my abilities and what extent I could push them to. How was one even supposed to fight with wind? I had no idea, maybe I could blow them all away...like the big bad wolf. God, what would I even do in a fight?

"I agree with Xiumin, it's a risk. The chances of failing are too big. Plus, if we don't succeed, there _will_ be consequences. You know how cruel they are, they'll beat us until we're dead and not give a damn," Suho reasoned. The front doors of the truck slammed and the car started to move. I had no idea where they were taking us but I was curious to find out.

"What can they do to us that they haven't already done? We've been tortured day after day for months now. Wouldn't death be a mercy? I say we vote," Chanyeol whispered heatedly in disagreement.

"I want to escape this place just as much as you do but I also have make sure we all come out of here _alive_. You are all so busy trying to risk your lives fighting without a care if you survive or not. I'm just trying to protect you from your own desperation because if I don't, who will? If you don't care about your own lives, you'll only end up dead and then what? Would it be worth it then?" Suho said resigned, trying to be a quiet as possible.

I realized he was only trying to look out for us because he cared. If any one of us died, I don't know how I would take it. We had only known each other for a few months but we spent so much time together, it felt like I had known them for my whole life.

We had gone in strangers and became brothers, we were like an unconventional family. Suho was right, we were letting our desperation get in the way of logic but I still didn't think we should sit back and do nothing. It was ironic because we thought escape meant survival but it was what was going to get us killed.

We took a vote and five of us voted for and four voted against. I voted for because even though it was a risk, I was willing to take it. We were outside, we were already too close to not do anything. We proceeded to conjured up a plan and honestly speaking it was a shit plan. At least we had one though and we could only do so much in the short amount of time before the car came to a halt.

Stepping out of the van, a large building in open space came into view. There was nothing at all but fields upon fields, we truly were in the middle of nowhere. We walked up towards the entrance and as we got nearer I realized how big the building actually was. It was completely black on the outside and it looked way too modern to be located here. What stood out most was the word 'EVOLVE' printed in bold lettering on the top left corner.

Once we entered the building they removed the handcuffs and we all went through a security check, even the guards. After, they led us into a huge room which looked like a gym hall but fancier. I noticed multiple targets, dummy mannequins and weapons on one side of the room. This was definitely some sort of training room.

"Today, we will start with Phase Three. From now on you will train until you are all honed to the highest potential you can possibly achieve. Until you become unstoppable weapons," Vic explained. Weapons? For what, for who, who would we even be used against? Was this the real motivate behind Experiment EXO? I had too many questions and no answers which was utterly frustrating.

"We'll start today with the basics," Vic announced interrupting my thoughts. We were brought toward one side of the room where there were mats laid on the ground and he continued, "blocking. One of the most important things you will learn in combat. If you can't defend yourself then you might as well run."

He showed us how by bringing in a guard for the demonstration. First, he showed us how to block a punch then a kick. I tried my best to memorise the position of his body and his stance. I had never fought before, I didn't even do Taekwondo as a kid so this was all new to me. It didn't seem too hard though, put your arms up to block a punch, duck or evade a blow if possible to tire out your appointment, watch their posture and keep your tension up.

After, we were each assigned a trainer, mine was a Japanese man who was a little smaller than me but he made up for it in his muscular build. He was actually very civil compared to some of the other guards I had encountered, he introduced himself as Yamamoto Haru and even shook my hand. My defences were up though because after everything I couldn't trust people on first impression, humans were deceptive.

We spent at least an hour going over stances and positions, making sure I understood the basics well. I tried my best because I never knew when this would become useful. I was about to fight my way out of here so I needed to be as prepared as I could be.

I take back what I said earlier, combat was more technical that I expected. There were a lot of things to think about, not only did you have to worry about your own positioning but also how your opponent held themselves because by studying that you could deduce what type of attack they were going to make.

The next two hours were much more brutal, this was when the real training begun. We had to fend off attack after attack from our instructors by blocking and trying to predict their movements. They said it was the most effective way to learn because if you didn't block properly then you would have to suffer the consequences yourself. Also, they wanted us to learn how to take a hit. How to angle your body for less impact and they taught us which areas of your body were a priority to protect.

I didn't even know how to punch but I tried it a few times on instinct and it only cost me more pain. Haru would always find an opening to my ribs or my stomach and deliver a stronger blow. After that, I learned it was definitely an area that I should always protect.

By the end of it I was completely exhausted and covered in sweat. I hadn't done any exercise in months and I knew my body would be aching and covered in bruises the next day. Before today, I had never even been in a fight but now my skin was sore to touch from the amount of hits I had taken. Right now though, this was least of my worries, we had a plan to execute.

We were led back out to the entrance, where there was a metal detector and guards stationed everywhere. We went through the security check and the guards came to put the handcuffs back on our wrists. However, just before they were able to, a short whistle came from Baekhyun as planned. Then all chaos broke loose.

On signal to attack, I felt the air around me and hardened it. Creating a small blast of wind, I pushed the guard backwards with as much force as possible. He fell to the ground, sliding a few feet away and dropped the handcuffs with a clatter. This was it, it was time to run.

So that's what I did. I ran through the entrance after Chanyeol who had easily maimed his guard with a blast of fire and Kyungsoo was right behind me. The others were either in front or following shortly after and I saw the van in the distance.

We were all sprinting down the gravel path as fast as we could, towards our freedom. We only needed to get to the van and that was it. That was the plan, it was simple: create a diversion, run, get to the van and make a great escape.

Adrenaline pumped through my body and I ran as fast as my exhausted body would allow. Even though I was tired, I pushed my body to move quicker because this was life and death.

I heard the heavy footsteps of the guards following closely after us and Vic's booming voice yelling at them to stop us but we had already made it, we were close enough now that I could feel victory on the tip of my tongue.

Chanyeol turned around and blasted a stream of fire, effectively slowing down the guards. I could hear their screams behind me but abruptly, a gun shot went off and then another. On my right, Kyungsoo fell to the ground with a shout and I came to a halt.

Breathing deep through my pained lungs, I desperately helped him up, propping his body up against mine. Blood was dripping down his leg and he was whimpering as I urged him forward. He had been shot and now that he was limping we were slow, too slow.

My heart pounded against my ribcage and I turned around to see Chanyeol on the ground. I guess the other gunshot had been aimed at him.

All of sudden, we were surrounded and guns were pointed at us in all directions. Vic appeared, breaking through the crowd of guards and walked up to me. He held a gun against my head, cocked it and said in a threatening voice, "don't move another inch if you don't want to die."

 


	7. Kyungsoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the wait for this Chapter! I've been so busy recently because I was away in Seoul and then Berlin for the Music Bank concert. Finally, I got to see EXO for the first time and it was such a happy moment, it really made my life! Now that I'm back, I've been non-stop editing and writing but I feel quite pressured. On top of making videos and my own personal life, I'm constantly trying to write but I feel like there's always a deadline I have to meet which is quite stressful. So I'm going to keep writing but maybe not post as regularly...is that ok? Of course though, I'll try my best to write as much as possible! - exoxouniverse

I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the pain throbbing in my leg. The bullet ingrained in my calf was digging against my bone and I was trying my best not to make a sound. Even though I was hardly stable, I didn't dare move because of the gun resting against Sehun's forehead.

We had failed and now we were surrounded with weapons aimed at us from every angle. The others had made it further ahead but eventually they got caught, ending up in the exact same position as us.

We hadn't planned for a set of guards to be stationed by the van, in fact we hadn't planned much at all. We didn't have enough time to and I knew it would be too risky, there had been too much uncertainty. From the beginning I had been against this but it didn't matter because my opinion had been outvoted.

It was stupid but none of us had even considered that they had guns. Now thinking about it, I had seen them before, strapped into the guard's belts. However, since they had never been used or even brought out, it became buried in the back of my mind.

Our abilities may be able to overpower a human but not a human with a gun. Fire, water or lighting was not able to stop a bullet. Maybe if I had been more prepared or actually trained, my elemental power would've been able to block it. Everything was still very new though and my reactions weren't fast enough. Also, I constantly forgot I even had powers which I could use to protect myself and I wasn't just an ordinary human anymore.

"You really shouldn't have run," Vic said menacingly. My heart was beating like crazy from the adrenaline pumping through my body. I didn't think it was possible but it started working even faster, out of fear, when Vic twisted the gun against Sehun's temple in a threatening manner. "I could put this bullet through your head and I wouldn't care less whether you lived or died. Lucky for you, we need you alive but that doesn't mean we can't hurt you."

Suddenly he pointed the gun downward and shot Sehun's leg. Instantly he collapsed from the unexpected hit and since I was leaning against him, I tumbled down with him. He clutched at the wound and whimpered in pain while Vic smirked, "that'll teach you not to run again."

I pressed my palms against the ground and stood up, balancing on my unwounded leg. After I was as stable as I possibly could be, I tried to help him up but it was proving difficult. The wound in my leg burned but I tried to ignore it and doubled my efforts. Vic laughed at our clumsy attempts, starting to walk away and then said over his shoulder, "take them back to base, I've got a present planned for them."

The guards surged forwards, grabbing a hold of our arms and dragged us towards the van. From where we were standing, it wasn't far away. We had been so close to escaping, too close, that it made the situation even more pitiful. For a second, I had believed it, that we could make it out of here but all my hopes shattered when the bullet hit my flesh and buried deep into my leg.

Trying not to put weight on my wound I leaned against the men who held me captive and let them hold me up. I didn't fight them, I didn't have it in me, I was in pain and exhausted. Some of the other boys definitely weren't as worn out as I was though. They were still struggling against the guards but I didn't see the point, they had us and we weren't going anywhere. There was no escaping now.

I was shoved into the van and I took the seat next to Sehun. I reached for his hand and placed it over his wound and squeezed, telling him to apply pressure so the blood would clot quicker. One by one we filled the van but some of us were unwilling to follow. Outside, Kai was pushing against the guards as hard as possible, refusing to enter the van. He let out a blood curdling scream as he fought against them and the desperation on his face was near animalistic.

None of us wanted to be locked up after we had been let out for the briefest time but what choice did we have. Most of us couldn't even walk straight from the bullet wounds and the rest who could, knew that it just meant more suffering for us. They had already shot Sehun to prove a point and to let us know they had no problem hurting us.

Kai was easily overpowered; the fight was a waste of energy when he was so outnumbered by people and weapons. Instead of bringing out the tasers like they did before, they brought out guns and directed them at him. He stopped for a second upon seeing the threat but then puffed out his chest and shouted, "shoot me, I dare you!"

Nobody moved and he continued, "you can't kill me, I'm valuable and you _need_ us alive." One of the guards put his gun down and walked forward towards Kai but he didn't cower. Suddenly, he punched him right in the stomach and Kai doubled over from being winded. Patting him on the back, the guard taunted, "don't worry kid, you won't be dying anytime soon. How lucky of you."

The other guards grabbed hold of him and threw him into the van. Luckily, we had been there to soften his landing, catching him before he hit the metal floor. They slammed the doors shut and the vibrations echoed through me. The resonance of the sound was one of finality. We were back to square one.

*********

It had been a few days now, maybe four or five, I wasn't sure. They had attended to the bullet wounds as soon as we got back to base but they made sure not to give us any anaesthetic. I had felt the burn as they poured alcohol against my wound and the sting of the clamps digging against my flesh, searching for the bullet.

The process had been agonisingly slow and it made me wonder if they were doing it on purpose. As punishment, we weren't allowed to heal the wounds ourselves, they had to heal organically. Of course, they never forgot to threaten us and told us we would suffer more bullet wounds if we didn't obey.

After, they left us alone in our cells and never check on us once. They didn't even give us any food or water. At this point, I was seriously thinking we were going to die from starvation. Maybe this was our punishment, they were neglecting us.

The starvation felt worse than the torture from before because time moved too slowly. A day felt like a year and the only thing I could focus on was my empty stomach and my dry throat. I was so hungry. I was so thirsty. I needed something, anything to stop the gnawing hunger.

My body was so weak, I could hardly sit up so most of the time I slept. Although, when I couldn't force my mind and body to rest, I would lay awake feeling empty and have to endure the starvation.

Finally, they came and brought us to the usual experimentation room. Doctor Choi greeted us and I realized it had been a while since we saw her. The last time was around a month ago, before Phase Two started.

We had been monitored by our own individual doctors but I knew she was always watching from the background since she _was_ the mastermind behind this experiment. The word 'EVOLVE' flashed in my mind and I questioned, was she really though? Doctor Choi interrupted my thoughts and sang, "boys, how lovely to see you again."

I rolled my eyes unable to keep my expression neutral. Then I noticed she looked different today. Her pale skin glowed, contrasting against her black as night hair that sat perfectly in waves cascading down her back. Her lips were painted red and her cheeks blushed a rosy pink. She looked even more lovely than usual and my hatred for her grew. I wondered why was she dressed up today? Who was she trying to impress?

"I heard you boys were having a hard time following orders," Doctor Choi stated and then tsked three times, "don't worry, I knew something like this was bound to happen so I prepared for the worst."

She snapped her fingers once and a young woman stepped forward carrying a small silver briefcase in her hand. I was curious to what it contained but I got distracted when I saw the word EVOLVE printed on the case. Doctor Choi opened the briefcase with a click and picked up a round shaped object.

"This is your punishment," she said with a smile. She held up it up so we could finally see clearly what it was and my eyes widened in shock. I knew they were cruel but this was beyond that. It was a collar.

The guards beside me, took hold of both of my arms and forced me to my knees. This was the most humiliating moment of my life and I wanted to puke, this was disgusting. They were going to put a collar on me like I was a dog. All along they had been treating us like we were animals, firstly caged and now leashed.

This was so inhumane. How could they watch with smiles on their faces? Did this not bother them at all? I was so angry, rage consumed my thoughts and I started to tremble. I felt the power from within calling to be used so I reached down into it, further than I ever felt before and pulled it out.

I had no clue what I was doing but I let go and followed my instincts. A tremor ran through the room and ground started to shake. With all my might I pulled everything I had out from my body and suddenly huge chunks of rock came bursting out from the ground in streams.

People started yelling in panicked voices and more guards came forward to restrain me. I was forced to the ground as six guards held me down so I couldn't move anymore. They couldn't stop me though; my power was still in full motion. I couldn't see what damage I was causing but I could feel the trembling ground vibrating through me and I knew it was serious.

Suddenly something was clicked into place around my neck and everything stopped. The sound of gravel hitting the ground surrounded me and I no longer felt the tugging from within. There was only silence now and it was deafening.

I looked up to see the damage I caused and the room was a mess. There was rubble everywhere, holes in the ground and chunks of the room had gone missing. I was in awe, this was something I had inflicted without even lifting a finger. With just a thought and a bit of emotion, _I_ had done this and it made me feel powerful.

Although, now I couldn't feel anything at all. The usual swirl of energy that was ever present, wasn't to be found. It had just disappeared and there were no traces of it. I guessed this was what they had been working on. The heavy device around my neck, acting as a control over my powers.

After seeing what the device was capable of, the other reacted quickly. Throwing out their powers as a defensive barrier. We didn't want our only upper hand to be taken away from us but we also didn't want a collar around our necks, reminding us we were just objects to them and nothing more.

It was chaos: water and fire were coming off in streams on both sides of me and guards were flying across the room from the force of Sehun's air manipulation. Beams of light and ice were shot while lightning thundered through the room.

However, I just sat on the ground in disbelief, ignoring my dangerous surroundings and stared at my hands. I focused and willed the earth that had called to me, to move but still nothing happened. I concentrated harder, closing my eyes and placing my hands on the ground. I fumbled around grasping at the pieces of gravel I had previously formed, willing there to be a connection but the was none. There was nothing at all. Only emptiness.

Feeling panicked like I was suffocating, I yanked at the object around my neck but it wasn't budging at all, no matter how hard I pulled. It remained locked and for the first time in my life I felt claustrophobic. It felt as though the device was going to strangle me even though it stayed unmoving.

After, I just sat on the ground feeling at loss and in disbelief. I never thought I would feel like this without my power but I couldn't describe it. It felt like a part of my being was missing and I wasn't complete without it.

One by one the others were restrained and the collars were locked into place around their necks. Things had gone from bad to worse and I saw no hope of escape. Now, we truly had no control.

 


	8. Kai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This chapter is longer than other ones but I hope you enjoy! - exoxuniverse*

I woke up abruptly, feeling empty.

For days now, I had been having the same recurring dream. Every time I fell asleep, I would dream about losing something precious. However, I couldn't figure out what I lost or who took it. I was never able to find the missing object and I always woke up with the same empty feeling. Today was no different.

The feeling of losing something wasn't unfamiliar to me. It had always been a habit of mine, a bad one. I couldn't help it since I easily forgot where I put my things but there had been times I swore they had magically disappeared.  
  
A memory of my mother popped into my mind. Whenever I admitted to losing yet another possession, she would stop what she was doing and say in outrage, 'again?'. Every time she would give that exact same reaction and it made me smile thinking about it. As the job of a parent, she tried to be strict with me and would tell me she was disappointed or angry. So when she scolded me, I'd apologize and pout but she always gave in easily and ruffled my hair whilst telling me I was good for nothing.

Later on, when I eventually found what I had lost she would nag at me endlessly because she had already replaced it. I would always feel bad but I also used to hate her nagging. I found it annoying and I would roll my eyes but now, how I wished I could hear her voice just one more time. It's sad how people are never grateful for the things they have until they lose them.

I missed her. I missed my family, my friends and my dogs. A tear rolled down my cheek as I thought, I'll never be able to see them again. Quickly wiping it away, before anyone could see, I shut out the sadness filling my mind. I knew if I let it in, I would fall into a dark pit, that was near impossible to climb out of.

I have always known I was more sensitive than other people. It was just the way I was, I felt every emotion so deeply. It didn't matter what it was: happiness, sadness, jealously, joy, I felt it all strongly.

When I was a kid, I hated it, the other boys at school would tease me and call me a cry baby. They told me, boys shouldn't be so sensitive and they definitely shouldn't cry. I remember running home and telling my father, saying I would never cry again and he asked me why. I replied that men don't cry and I didn't want to be seen as weak. To this day, what he told me has still stuck with me.

I remember his comforting hand rubbing calming circles on my back. He told me it didn't matter what others thought because crying meant I felt something and that in itself was powerful. He reassured me by telling me the other kids might see in black and white but I was fortunate because I saw the world in color.

"Son, your emotions are what make you human," he said whilst cupping my cheek and wiping away my tears. Then he gently smiled down at me and whispered so only the two of us could hear, "let me tell you a secret. If you use this to your advantage, then you'll never see it as a weakness again."

My father was always my number one supporter. Whatever I did in life, he was there at the side lines cheering me on. He made sure I knew I could be anything I wanted to be as long as I was determined and worked hard. He was the one that introduced me to dancing when I was just a boy. He thought it would be something I'd enjoy and I did, I fell in love with it.

He told me if I was able to put my emotions into my dance, then I could create something beautiful. Art. So that's what I did. From then on, every time I danced I poured my heart and soul into it.

If someone asked me, I wouldn't even be able to describe how I felt about dancing. It wasn't just steps and movement, it was a way to expression myself when I couldn't with words. It was my passion, my dream and my whole life. But now, it was just another thing that was taken away from me.

I swept those thoughts away and I tried to think positively. In my time here, I had learnt that hope was the most important emotion I could feel because without it there was nothing worth living for. It was my reason for my survival. I promised myself yet again, I would escape, so I could hear my mother's voice and see my father's smile at least one more time.

Although, I couldn't shake the hollow sensation from my body and mind. I didn't know what the recurring dream meant but it felt as if my sub-conscious was sending me a message. I couldn't figure out what though and I hated being this clueless.

I was also sick of the constant gnawing feeling, as if some part of me was missing. Physically, I was fine but it went beyond that. It was like a slice of my existence had been stolen and I needed to get it back. Ever since they had put the collars around our necks causing our powers to disappear, this feeling of loss had become apparent.

I believed it was interconnected somehow. Now that we had powers, I think without them we weren't fully complete. They were a part of us now even though we had only developed them a short while ago, something just didn't feel right without them.

However, it still seemed absurd to me and I didn't understand it. How was it even possible that we actually had powers? With just a thought I could just disappear and reappear wherever I wanted. Teleportation. Something I had always dreamed of having as a kid. I thought it would be so cool, even more so than flying and super speed. With a snap of my fingers I could just be wherever I wanted in the world. Wasn't that the dream?

Of course with this ability, I had thought about escaping, too many times to count. Technically I had the power to do so but the choice wasn't that easy. There were a lot of factors to consider, I couldn't just think about myself in this situation. However, I had been desperate enough to try escape once and after, I never attempted it a second time.

In reality, teleportation was more complicated that just snapping my fingers and going where I desired. I realized early on, I couldn't just go to Fiji because I wanted to. I had to be able to clearly picture the destination in my head, detail for detail. Or better yet if it was somewhere I had already been that made teleporting to the location easier. I could do it with no problems within a room, I would just jump in and out of existence because I could exactly see where I was going.

The problem was, I had no idea where I was when I teleported. The place I went to, between disappearing and reappearing was something I still hadn't figured out. I called it Nowhere because it truly was nowhere.

The first few times I thought it was just darkness but when I looked closer there was more to it than that. I realized there were shapes and objects of all sorts but I couldn't distinguish anything clearly. It felt like I was in another dimension but I didn't know what that even meant when the others asked me to expand on that.

Another strange thing was, time passed differently when I teleported. I had tested it with Chanyeol, who's cell was furthest away from mine and he confirmed it only took a second or two for me to disappear and reappear from my cell to his. However, for me, it felt more like minutes and it was as if I was traveling _through_ Nowhere. Maybe if I was smarter I could work it out but there was no science behind this. This stuff was usually all fiction and fantasy.

What I knew for certain was that this ability could come with a cost and it wasn't something to mess about with. If I wasn't careful there was a possibility of becoming lost in Nowhere. It had nearly happened once already, when I tried to escape. I had wanted to go home but instead I became lost within the dark abyss of the unknown and I knew I could've become stuck there.

After, I had been frightened to no end and I never tried pushing myself that hard again, it was too risky. When the range became too large, there was a bigger chance of becoming lost. I didn't know if this was something that I could improve on with practice or not. Maybe it was due to my lack of control or maybe I just couldn't teleport over large distances at all.

I was scared of what I could do, of my potential but I was even more afraid of what I wasn't able to do. If something went wrong because I pushed myself beyond my limits, it was me who would suffer the consequences. I realized quickly after that one experience that becoming lost forever would definitely be worse than being locked up here.

*********

_One month ago_

I had learnt whilst growing up, no matter who you were or where you came from, this was true for everyone: some days were just worse than others. Today in particular day was a bad day, maybe one of the worst since I had arrived here.

Phase Two of experiments had just started and somehow my assigned Doctor had already figured out the logistics and functionality of my power. I'm not sure how but I guess this was her job and what they were paying her for. Plus, she had a lot of crazy technology to help her and I wouldn't be surprised if she had majored in torture methods.

She found that when I teleported my body was not only in one place. Traces of my physical and mental presence were left at both ends of the spectrum: the place I teleported from, the place I wanted to go and everywhere in between.

Today I had been tortured far beyond my limit. Usually it hurt and the pain was always present but I guess she was feeling extra mean. My experiment usually involved torture whilst in confinement or bondage. Every day they were getting more and more creative with the ways they inflicted pain but the most important factor was the captivity.

The pain had to be intense enough that I would want to escape and force myself to teleport. However, the restraints holding or caging my body would make sure I couldn't. Each time I would nearly rip my body in half and there had been times where I thought I had. It was working though, as the days went by I was becoming more accustom to teleporting and the sensation of my presence spread over multiple locations.

After by far the most excruciating round of experiments, I was dumped back in my cell. I had no energy left so I laid in the position they left me in, sprawled out in a heap on the ground. I was lifeless and I couldn't bring myself to move so I just stayed like that.

I felt empty, like there was nothing inside of me at all. No emotions, no thoughts, nothing. Maybe I was in so much pain I was numb or maybe my body and mind had decided to give up and shut down.

This was a first, usually I felt too much but I realized feeling nothing was worse because when the emptiness started to seep in, so did the loneliness. An awful combination, they thrived off each other and gnawed at me from within.

In the back of my mind I told myself to snap out of it because I was afraid of feeling this way. My father's words rung in my head over and over again, 'Son, your emotions are what make you human'. It didn't work though, I had already fallen in too deep and I was sinking.

After a while, someone put a hand on my wrist. I didn't bother look over because in this state, I just didn't care. The person started to shake my body and called out, "Kai, Kai!"

By the distinct voice and slightly accented Korean, I recognised it was Lay reaching through from the cell beside me. Lay was the only one who wasn't Korean, he was fully Chinese but he had moved to Korea a few years ago because of his father's job. Thankfully, he spoke Korean quite well but he still struggled sometimes.

Right now, he probably thought I was dead and maybe I was because that's what it felt like. Urgently, he reached for my pulse and after checking it he whispered to himself, "he's alive."

He immediately put both hands on my body and closed his eyes. A blossoming feeling swept through my body creating a delicate sensation and I understood what he was doing. Panicked, he whispered, "why isn't he healing?"

"I'm not hurt," I croaked out quickly, feeling bad that I worried him. It was ironic because I said what I had, to reassure him but it was a lie. I was hurt, just not physically. Even with his healing abilities he couldn't help me because it was my heart and mind that hurt.

Lay let out a breath of relief when he realized I was fine. I stayed in the same position but rolled my head so I was facing him. At the same time, we said 'sorry' and I was confused so I asked, "why are _you_ apologising?"

"Because even with these powers," he said looking distraught and lifted up his hands to study them, "I can't help."

After, he dropped his hands with a sigh and his gaze became distant. It made me wonder what wars were waging on inside _his_ mind. We were all here together but individually we had our own problems and our own demons to fight. Each of us had our own regrets constantly haunting our minds.

Lay's power came with the most burden and I knew his fears went beyond his own personal consideration. Healing, something that was amazingly useful. Since he developed it, he had been patching us up one by one, day by day and even though it hurt him and it drained him, he still continued to use it. He never complained once and he always took care of others before himself.

There were days where we would all come back from our experiments bloody and battered but he would looked fine. Tired but fine, so I got curious and asked him about it. He told me, every day they would beat him until wounds covered his entire body, to triggered his power. Once he healed himself they would continue to do it over and over again.

So, on the outside he looked fine but in truth, he wasn't, we just couldn't see it. As time went on I knew it had gotten worse when they started introducing torture devices and sharp objects but he never spoke about the details.

Finally using my weak body to prop myself up, I kneeled in front of him so I was making direct eye contact. Even though I was exhausted and my own mental state was fragile, I felt the urge to reassure him. I needed to let him know that the blame wasn't his to shoulder. I reached out to grip his hand and said fiercely, "you do more than enough."

His gaze became more focused now that I had his attention and I continued, "without you we'd probably all be dead but you didn't let that happen. Every time we've been hurt or injured you've fixed us up even when we were beyond physical repair. This," I tapped my finger against my temple, "this isn't something you can fix, it's not on you to do so. My heart and mind have been shattered by what they've done to us and I'll never be the same again but that's my pain to bear, not yours."

A tear ran down Lay's cheek and he didn't wipe it away, he let his pain show. My heart ached for him because I could relate to his internal suffering, he felt the same as I did.

"You have to stop worrying about us and worry about yourself because I see it. The mental strain you put on yourself when we're hurt. It's not your fault, it's those monsters who locked us up here. So never apologize for something like that again because it's not your burden to bear. We're brothers, got that? We're in this together and we'll shoulder what you can't," I finished and gave his hand one final squeeze before I let go.

He whispered a thank you, that was barely audible but I could hear the sincerity in his voice. I knew that was exactly what he needed to hear and I was glad I was the one who could comfort him. I shuffled back slowly and collapsed against the wall, using it for support. We didn't speak afterwards, we just sat in silence and I started to fall deep into my thoughts.

In my time here, I realized I had become too fearlessly fearful. I was so afraid of what they would do to me but there was nothing left to be scared of because they had already taken _everything_ from me. Sometimes I felt as though I couldn't remember what joy was because all I felt was pain. If it wasn't physical it was mental, I had been pushed to the limit and any further I was going to break.

Already I could feel myself cracking under the pressure, I was just waiting for the moment I'd shattered into a million pieces. Today I had been close. They had tortured me so intensely that I became so desperate for escape. So I had teleported as my mind was spinning in many different directions causing my body to rip the same way. I had thought this was the end, I wouldn't be able to re-piece my body back together.

I knew that this was only going to continue until they tore me apart. I could feel death waiting for me and honestly, I was ready to go. I didn't care anymore. I had nothing, what more could I lose? I was becoming more and more desperate the deeper I fell into my dark all-consuming thoughts.

That's when I decide it was now or never. I was going to do it, I was going to escape. I became resolved and I started to plan. If I was going to succeed, first I would need energy and maybe some rest.

Dawn would be the perfect time, when everyone else was sleeping. What about the others? I couldn't possibly take them with me, I could hardly control my powers and I had never tried teleporting anyone but myself. I didn't even know if it was possible.

I derived that the best option was to escape and after I would find them and save them all. I would come back for them and I would burn this place to the ground but I didn't know how. I kept telling myself, I was doing this for them but deep down I knew my motives were selfish. I was too desperate to care though. Selfishness and greed would always be the downfall of humanity but this was for my survival.

After our usual meal of plain chicken breast, bread and steamed vegetables I fell asleep. When I woke up I was drenched in sweat from the nightmare I was having. I couldn't remember what happened in the dream but fear tinged my senses and I should've taken it as an omen for what was to come.

I looked around, trying to let my eyes adjust to the dark. Judging by the light snoring and deep breathing, everyone was asleep. It was time.

I closed my eyes and I imagined my home in Suncheon. I thought about every little detail I could: the creaking front door that my father promised he'd fix but never did, the family portraits hung up on the wall, my dance trophies displayed in a glass cabinet, my sisters' diploma on the mantle, anything I could think of, I did. Next, I imagined my family: my mother's kind eyes, my father's caring smile and the protective gazes of my sisters.

My body started to transition, preparing for the jump and I was relieved it was working. I shut my eyes tighter and I clenched my fists hard, pushing myself beyond any and all limits. Since I didn't even know where I was currently, I had no idea how far I was attempting to travel. However, I knew it was a large distance to Suncheon because I could hardly feel the presence of the place I called home. I gave last mental shove and I finally, I disappeared.

When I opened my eyes again, I didn't know where I was. It was dark but there was brightness shining from somewhere. I looked around, spinning my head in all directions and it looked oddly familiar. I felt buoyant and I realized I was floating. I let out a yelp feeling panicked by the lack of gravity and my limbs started flailing when I tried to steady myself. There was a nauseous feeling growing in the pit of my stomach and the hairs on my arms had risen. What was this? Where was I?

I tried to search my surroundings for clues. Even though I saw the forming and shaping of objects, I couldn't distinguish anything clearly. Finally, it clicked and I realized I was in the place in-between, Nowhere. I had travelled through this place multiple times but it had never been like this.

I mentally reached out and I felt most of my presence had been teleported here but there was still a sliver left in the prison cell. What was I supposed to do now? I tried to teleport away but nothing happened. I was stuck. I tried every possible thing I could think of, even teleporting back to where I had come from, but nothing seemed to work.

At this point, I think hours must have gone by, I wasn't sure. Time didn't seem to be a concept in this place. Suddenly a bright light flashed, interrupting the darkness and frightening me. I headed towards it as best as I could, swimming through the air and propelling myself forward. This must be what it felt like in space. Although, my breathing was fine so I concluded that there had to be oxygen but no gravity. This place made no sense.

The light turned out to be a tiny ball and I grabbed it out of curiosity. Instantly, a large portal looking thing opened up, startling me. I had never seen this in my life before. Were my powers developing? Maybe now I could teleport using other methods. That didn't seem right though, because I was sure this creation wasn't mine.

The portal was transparent so I could see through it to the other side. It was rippling and warping the image but I could recognize that place with my eyes closed. It was back in the prison, where I had come from.

I realized, the light had been shining from Baekhyun's hands and now, the others were awake and moving. From their body language I could tell they were in panic. Blurred shouting sounded from the other side of the portal and even though it was hard to make out, I could tell enough, they were searching for me.

Guilt swirled in the pit of my stomach, this was so wrong of me. I had just left without even saying a word because of my own selfish intentions. I was the worst person ever. How could I do this to them after all we've been through?

I was human, so I was flawed. I made mistakes but I could fix this, it wasn't too late. I desperately reached out for the portal to teleport myself back but it instantly disappeared after my skin made contact. What just happened? Why did it disappear?

Suddenly, I started falling. I screamed the whole way down because I was scared for my life. At this momentum, I was going to die when I hit the ground. All my bones would shattered and I would be a splat of body mass. I clenched my eyes shut waiting for impact but instead I abruptly stopped.

I opened my eyes and realized I was floating a few inches off the ground, it was like the air had caught my fall, how was this possible? Suddenly I dropped, my back hitting the concrete and I grabbed at my chest trying to calm my pounding heart. Adrenaline raced through my body overtaking all my other senses and I took some time to breathe deeply. When I had finally calmed down, I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was so preoccupied, I hadn't even realized where I was. I was home.

I walked up to the front door and pushed it open, the familiar creaking sound warmed my heart. I smiled at the fact my father _still_ hadn't fixed it. I walked along the hallway towards the noise in the kitchen but something was odd, different.

I stopped and inspected the photo sitting on the table. I recalled this was taken on Christmas Day last year, when we were opening presents. We were all in festive Pyjamas and it was a happy picture, one we were all laughing in.

However, in this version of the photo, I was nowhere to be found. Confused, I checked the other pictures and I realized was in none of them. Somehow, I had been removed.

I walked towards the light in the kitchen and when I entered I saw my family sitting at the dining table. They were talking and laughing whilst eating my mother's home cooked meal. I smiled at the happy image and a tear dropped down my cheek. I had missed them so much and just to see them again was a gift.

I slowly walked over but strangely no one noticed me. Tentatively I put a hand on my father's shoulder and he looked up.

"Who are you?" he questioned and my heart stopped. Who was I? I was his son. Did he not recognise me? With no control over my powers, I teleported to where my mother sat and my family stared at me in shock.

"What is he?" my sister exclaimed with a horrified expression.

"It's me, your son!" I said desperately while grabbing at my mother's hand.

"But I don't have a son," she mumbled confused.

Her words were like a knife to the heart and there was nothing but silence as they echoed in my mind. She shook my hand off and I looked down at the happy family portrait where I was missing, where I had been erased.

Suddenly the scene flashed before my eyes. My father was worn, his frown lines had deepened and he looked aged. My oldest sister had tears streaming down her face and sadness filled my mother's eyes. I saw she was clutching a picture in her hand, unintentionally crumpling it but I didn't think she cared. I took a closer look to see it was a picture of me.

Was this real? Was I being shown the reality of my shattered family after they lost their only son and brother? I didn't know what to believe anymore, it was all too confusing. I looked at the photo in my hand once again but this time I was in it.

Then I looked back at my broken family once more and sadness filled my heart. The photo slipped from my hand and the glass shattered as it hit the ground. Suddenly it was dark again. The scene had vanished, it had all been an illusion.

This place was playing tricks on me. I screamed out in frustration and grabbed at my hair. Where the hell was I? I was lost. I needed to leave, to get out of here because I would go mad from this deception. This was cruel, I was shown happiness which was then crushed with deceit and reality.

I wanted to see my family, I wanted to see their smiles and hear their laughter but I wanted it to be real. What I wanted wasn't possible though, I had tried to go to them and I ended up here instead. Was this karma for leaving, for being selfish?

I thought about what I had done and the betrayal I had caused. We said we were in this together but I left. I was weak and pathetic because even though I had been living through hell, the others had been too. I thought about the moments we had shared and I felt worse about the situation. I was a bad person and I didn't deserve the friendship they offered.

A kaleidoscope of memories flashed through my mind: times we laughed and times we cried. We had joked together, teased each other and when we were sad we reached out to support one another. We ate together, slept together and fought together. The moments I've shared with these guys, I could call brothers, meant something. The fact that we each had this gene and now had these powers, meant something. Fate had brought us together and I couldn't just leave them.

I closed my eyes once more and I felt for the traces of myself left at the place I teleported from. There was hardly any presence left, I was about to become stuck here forever. I reached out and I grabbed onto the last fragment as if my life depended on it. I pushed my mind hard against the force trying to stop me from leaving and pulled from the power deep within me, letting it the pressure build up. When I was about to lose grip, I decide it was now or never and I jumped with everything I had.

A light shined in my face and I opened my eyes squinting at the brightness. I heard shuffling and Baekhyun's voice broke through the silence, announcing, "he's back."

*********

After that time, I had never tried escaping again. I had learned my lesson and become afraid of the unknown. I shouldn't push myself beyond my limits when I had no idea what I was doing. I never wanted to get stuck in the place between space and time again.

I hated the feeling of being at loss and now that's all I felt. The others felt the same way too, that something wasn't quite right. After they put these hideous collars around our necks, a piece of us had been taken away along with our powers. My instincts were telling me that without our abilities something bad was bound to happen. I didn't know if this warning was trustworthy but what I did know was that we had to find a way to get our powers back and fast.

After giving us our usual meal, they took us to the training centre. As we walked up the gravel path to the large building, I noticed blood on the ground, realizing it was ours and it had yet to be washed away.

Memories of our escape flooded my mind: I recalled how I had teleported and hid near the van, waiting for the others to catch up but they never did. I remembered the desperation I felt as I watched the scene fold out as we all fell one by one and when the guards finally captured me, I had fought against their restraint and refused to follow their orders. Shaking my head, I tried to clear those bad thoughts from my mind and I was brought back to the present.

Today, instead of taking us to the gym hall, they lead us through the building and back outside again. There was a large track field where they made us run laps, until all I could feel was burning in my lungs and pain in my muscles.

After we did body weight circuits and they intensely drilled us with shouting and the constant sound of the whistle. We did every imaginable exercise and by the end of it, I was completely exhausted and every muscle in my body ached.

They started tripling up our quantity of food but it was always the same plain bread, steamed vegetables and chicken breast. However, food was food and I needed it to survive so I tried not to complain too much.

This was actually a luxury because up until now we had become malnourished with just one meal a day. Although, I had a feeling they were fattening us for slaughter and it made me uneasy but at least I was full.

After that, all we did was train. Every day was something different: weights, cardio, combat and all sorts of weapons training. They had been serious about their intentions because I felt it too. I was becoming a solider, a weapon. My body was slowly transforming from boy who just became an adult to a man with muscles and strength.

Every day I was learning something new and becoming faster and stronger. Initially it had been hard but now that it had become routine, I actually quite liked it. We had something to do, a purpose and we weren't just rotting in our cells surrounded by darkness. Plus, this was so much better than daily torture.

They had yet to remove our collars and we hadn't used our powers in a while. The empty feeling was still present but as the weeks went by I was becoming accustomed to it.

Recently they had replaced the collar around our necks with a much lighter one. The upgraded version looked more high-tech and modern, less chunky. They had even engraved our subject numbers on them. Sometimes, I swore these people got joy from their cruelty.

The functionality of the device had also upgraded. They could now disable our powers and they had built in a tazer, camera, GPS and anything else they could think of that would be useful.

******** *****

"The nine of you have amazing abilities. You are all one of a kind and can do things that the world has never seen before. However, that's all useless if you don't know how to control them or use them. So, we're going to start training today," Vic announced. He scanned us all and then made direct eye contact with me, "you, Subject 88, you can start us off."

I stepped forward unsure what he wanted from me. Looking around the room, I noticed there were a lot more people present today. Guards and our personal trainers filled the room but strangely our doctors were also here.

I saw my doctor standing by the side and she looked the same as always, with her brown hair tied tightly into a ponytail and her square framed glasses. I glared at her but she stayed frustratingly unaffected. I noticed she was holding a small controller in her hand and I realized it was probably for the collar.

"Deactivate it," Vic ordered and suddenly a full sensation ran through my body, making my hairs stand. I felt complete and I realized I had my powers back. Instantly, without even meaning to, I teleported to the centre of the room just to test it and once again the empty feeling overrode my body.

"Let's go over some rules first," Vic boomed, "you will do what we say because if you don't, the pretty accessory around your neck will disable you at any time we want. If you escape, we _will_ be able to find you, thanks to the nifty GPS embedded into your collars. Also, as a security measure, we've implanted a dart covered in poison from a golden dart frog and unluckily for you, it's fatal. So, one click of a button is all it takes for you to be dead."

He snapped his fingers and they deactivated the device again causing power to swirl through my body. My Doctor stepped forward and walked towards me at the centre of the room.

"Subject 88. Ability: Teleportation. We've been studying you and we know you can teleport from room to room or at short range. However, you are unable to travel over large distances, that is why your escape was unsuccessful," she said as she flicked through the file in her hands.

My eyes widened at her statement. They had known all along. They had known that I tried to escape but strangely there were no repercussions. She looked directly at me and continued, "that is something we need to build up to, distance by distance. Today, let's see if you are capable of teleporting others as well."

"Subject 10, would you could kindly be of assistance," Vic said but there was always a mocking tone underneath his words. Lay tentatively stepped forward and walked towards me.

My Doctor guided me through the steps I should follow while the others stood by and watched. I don't know how she had figured out how teleportation worked or if this was even possible. I really hoped it was because I didn't want to rip Lay's body in half from this first attempt.

"Skin to skin contact will most likely work better so you can feel more of his presence. For right now try a small distance, teleport to somewhere within the room. Don't focus on the destination but focus on the body mass," advised my Doctor.

I listened to her and I reached both my hands out so Lay could take them. I looked at him with worry and he whispered reassuringly, "I trust you."

I closed my eyes and I felt for my presence first. When I had fully grasped it, I mentally reached out and felt for Lay's presence. When I had a hold on both, I started to feel my grip slipping but I pushed through. My powers responded and travelled through our links hands, flowing into Lay's body as well. It was now or never, if I held on any longer I would lose my grip completely. So without another thought, I jumped.

When I opened my eyes again, we were outside, standing on the spot of blood that was still there after weeks had gone by. I was disbelief, it had worked. Before I could open my mouth to say anything, Lay said, "I think we've finally figured out a way to escape."

 


	9. Lay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO! I've finally made it through all the members! Sorry this chapter took so long...I'm putting the blame on a mixture of writer's block, lots of personal life mumbo jumbo and demotivation but anyways I hope you enjoy! PS. things are finally starting to get interesting - exoxouniverse

**One Year and a Half Later**

We were finally going to do it. After a nearly two years of endless waiting, we were finally going to escape.

This time we were prepared and we had a plan, a good one. All the pieces of the puzzle had finally fallen into place for it to succeed and the timing was perfect.   

After two years of being experimented on, tortured and held captive, it was completely reasonable that my patience was wearing thin. I was no saint and to be honest, I had none of it left.

I was sick and tired of waiting, it made me feel useless. I was ready to leave, _we_ were ready to leave.                                                                                                 

The time we had spent here hadn't been a complete waste though, we hadn't just been sitting around twiddling our thumbs. Instead, we trained every single day, for this moment.

The knowledge that one day we would escape was the only thing that kept me going. Motivation and determination had been hard to maintain but I knew it would all be worth it in the end.

They had gotten what they wanted, we became the weapons they planned on making from the start. Now, I could do things that I had never imagined I would be able to. The things you would see in action movies and wouldn't believe that can be done in real life.                  

I was able to wield any weapon given to me: guns, axes, knives, arrows, swords, you name it. I could shoot the bullseyes on any target from any distance and one thing for sure was I didn't miss, ever. Days and days on end of target practice had now made it easy.                                  

We were trained in combat: boxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, whatever they taught we learnt. Long gone were the days we didn't know how to throw a punch or take a hit. Now we could fight against the best and stand a good chance of winning.                  

It had actually become a problem for our trainers because eventually we started beating them in every fight with no effort all. They had to resort to bringing in professionals, who we started winning against too. So instead they turned to computers, virtual reality simulations since humans just weren't good enough competition. As always, they were cruel and made sure the programmer didn't forget to add the pain factor to make the virtual reality as real as possible.                                                                                       

They even taught us different languages, the main ones being English, Japanese and Chinese. Thankfully, I had an advantage over the other guys since I already spoke two languages because of my heritage, Chinese and Korean.                                                                                              

Some of the skills they taught us were quite unexpected but necessary, driving being one of them. We were all young men who had just become adults and the only one with a licence was Xiumin.

So they first taught us how to drive and once we were competent, they then taught us how to drift and race. They told us, in the future we didn't know what situation we could end up in so this was vital.

Later on, we learnt more advanced skills like flying jets, driving boats, riding motor cycles and even piloting submarines. It was easy for them to teach us when they had simulations for just about everything.                                                                        

They trained us in hacking and programming as well, telling us this was one of the most important skills and I agreed. With our society becoming more and more robotic and the internet filled with unlimited information, I didn't doubt it when they said that it would be useful.

Out of everything we learnt, this was the most difficult skill for me. To me running laps for hours on end was way better than writing code. There was so much problem solving involved and it was completely alien to me, someone who never exceled at math or science even at school. Let's just say some of us where better than others. However, I now knew the basics and I could manage on my own, if I had to.                                                                                 

They had been surprised by how fast we were progressing, realizing the serum had more side effects than just activating the EXO gene. It had made us stronger, faster and smarter. Truly inhuman.                                                                                                                    

In the beginning, when Doctor Choi told us, the nine of us were 'filled with limitless possibilities', I hadn't believed her but she had been right. It became apparent when I was able to do things no one else in the world could. Such as run faster than the fastest human on earth and out of the nine of us I wasn't the quickest.

From all the physical training, my body had become a well-built machine. I had muscles in places I never did before and I definitely didn't look like a boy anymore. I had learnt an important lesson early on, that to protect myself my body had to be on top condition. It was something that I needed to rely on, it had to be a weapon I could use effectively.                    

It was strange though, I hadn't grown in height and even with my newly conditioned muscles, my frame was still fairly similar to before. Of course, I was bigger and no longer skinny but I looked no different than a young Asian man who invested his time at the gym a few times a week. I looked fit and lean, not too big and not too small, just average. However, I was strong. Stronger than opponents that were much larger than me and now I could even lift objects triple my own weight.                                                                               

The things I could achieve with just some training and the limits I could push my body to, still surprised me to no end. I was amazed by myself, by my potential. It truly was limitless.                                                                                     

Little by little, with more practice, a lot of trial and error we had slowly gained control of our powers. The things we could do weren't just little circus acts anymore. We were powerful now but we were also deadly.                                                                                                

I had the ability to heal, to bring someone back to life from the brink of death. Sometimes this scared me more than I liked to admit because before my power came my decision. My principles and morals were tested every time I decided to use my powers. Having to ask myself if I should save this person and did I want to save this person.                                                                                   

Up until now, I had mostly been helping the other boys but I knew the day would come where the choice wouldn't be clear and there would be no black and white, only grey. Because of this ability, where I held the power of life and death, it frightened me to no end.                              

The things we could create with just a thought was also something to be afraid of, for others and ourselves. I had seen Sehun form full tornados with just a lift of a finger which paired nicely with the lightning storms that Chen could manipulate. I've seen Chanyeol form a 30ft dragon out of fire and Xiumin throw up huge walls of ice.                                                                               

We had become strong. Stronger than they ever imagined. When we perfected yet another skill in no time at all, they would be surprised. We were progressing a lot quicker than they expected but they never thought anything of it. Instead of being cautious, they were tremendously happy and pushed for more. All that mattered to them was their experiment was successful, _we_ had been a success. Their subjects were now the weapons they desired from the beginning.                                                                                 

They had no idea of our intentions though and we made sure of that. We had tricked them into believing that we had become obedient but all along we were waiting for the right moment to attack.                                                                                                                               

Timing was everything, we had learnt that through our first attempt at escape. We had also learnt that a plan thought out in 5 minutes wasn't going to work. We needed to be smart and most importantly, prepared. So we bid our time, waiting until they became careless and sloppy. We had to strike when they least expected it.                                                           

Of course, we had been waiting because firstly, we wanted to learn to control our powers and secondly, the other skills they taught us would be useful in the future. However, one of the main reasons we hadn't attempted anything yet was because we were also waiting on Kai.                                                                                                                                        

For our plan to succeed, he would need to teleport all nine of us in one go. His abilities played a big factor in our plan, so it was vital. We had our doubts and worries that we shouldn't be so dependent on his powers but what other choice did we have? It was the easiest route and our options were limited.                                                                                                                                 

It took a year and a half for him to finally succeed and it was really hard on him, both physically and mentally. He had felt a lot pressure since we were all relying on him and even though we didn't want to, we had to. Another reason we were still stuck in this hell hole was because we couldn't just practice using our powers when we wanted to.                                                                                      

They were still using the collars around our necks to control us and threaten us when needed. Only when they allowed time for practice could we actually use our abilities but even then, we were still restricted. If we did anything out of order they made sure to remind us one click of a button was all it took for us to end up dead.                                                                                    

The collars were our biggest obstacle, not only because of the kill switch but the GPS system implanted in it. We had to disable them if we were going to escape successfully and we had been working on a plan to do so.                                                                                               

One more day. We only had to wait one more day. Then finally we were going to leave. One day compared to two years spent here was nothing but I knew today was going to feel like forever.     

*****                                                            

"Are you prepared for what's to come?" Vic asked us. It was ironic because he should've been asking himself the same question. But who could blame him, he wasn't aware of the hell we were going to set loose upon them in just a day's time. When he was met with silence, he answered for us, "physically, yes. There's no doubt about that. However mentally? I'm not so sure."                                                     

We were standing in the main training room, where we spent most of our days at weapons, combat and target practice. I had grown familiar with this setting and strangely it even made me feel calm.                                                                                                                                  

Well actually, that wasn't a surprise since the only other place we could go was back to our cells or worse, the labs. It was a relief to get away from the constant darkness and my own thoughts. Here I could throw my body and mind into training and shed all the pent-up energy and rage held within me.                                                                                      

"Emotions are horrible and wondrous things. It's so easy to lose control, to lose focus and we need to make sure that you don't. Even though we've been trying to mentally prepare you with simulations, we can't rely on them solely," Vic explained.                                

I didn't like where this was going. The simulations he had mentioned were the worst, they were like mind games. I hated them because they felt so real. They would make us watch horrible things and we wouldn't be allowed to react.

The images they showed had been burned into my mind like they were memories of the past. Scenes where my family had been slaughtered right before my eyes or innocent people, even young children screaming for help but I was forced to just stand by and do nothing.                                                                                                                            

It was horrendous and cruel. They would show us our worst nightmares but we would have to control our emotions and ensure our heartbeat stayed steady. If not, you could already guess what the repercussions were, pain.                                                                                                       

"Line up at the targets," Vic ordered and he motioned for us to follow him, so we did. Once we were in position he continued, "today is no different from others, just shoot the bullseye."                                       

He was lying, something _was_ different. There was an object in front of the target but I couldn't make out what because it was covered by a large piece of black cloth. Suddenly, shivers ran down my spine and my instincts told me something bad was about to happen.              

A guard approached the object in front of my target, on the left most side of the room, and pulled the cloth away. I covered my mouth in shock and the other boy's gasps echoed in my ears. I couldn't believe what I was seeing but at the same time, deep down this is what I had expected. Time and time again, they had proven to us their cruelty so I shouldn't have been surprised.

In front of the target was a human.                                                                                          

One by one they pulled off the cloth, revealing a person, blindfolded and gagged, centered with the bullseyes of the target. In front of mine was a man, maybe in his late forties, judging by his balding scalp. He was wearing a suit like he had come straight from the office but I knew he had been taken, kidnapped. It was obvious from the way his clothes were rumpled and his useless struggle against the ties holding him down.                                                                                      

We were to make our first kill.                                                                                              

That's what they expected of us.                                                                                          

I couldn't do it. I was the one that had the ability to heal which was something I had always been grateful for. While the others could cause destruction, havoc and death, I merely had the power to repair wounds.                                                                              

I had never complained about it or wished for a power that was cooler because I knew the others would have to deal with the consequences of death caused by their own hands. I had always been a lover not a fighter so when I found out I had the ability to heal, I was relieved.                                                                                                                                             

But now they were telling me to kill with the hands that I helped others with. If I did this, how could I continue on, knowing that these hands had been covered in the blood of someone innocent. Vic spoke up from next to me, "let's start with subject 10 then subject 61 can continue after."                                                                                                     

"I won't do it," I said firmly whilst clenching my fists.                                                          

"Sorry but I don't think I heard you right," Vic said with a humourless laugh.                           

"I said I won't do it, I won't kill that man," I repeated again, even louder.                           

Vic grabbed the hand gun from the weapons rack by my side and came up from behind me. He forced the gun into my hand and clocked it, raising my arm to aim towards the man.

"You make it sound like you have a choice in the matter but you don't. So shoot the man now or it'll be you with a bullet in your head," Vic threatened. After, he pulled another gun from the rack, clocked it and held it up against my head.                                                             

I wasn't scared. They were bluffing and I knew it. I was getting tired of the endless death threats because I knew they weren't going to kill us. We were too valuable, they knew it and we did too.                                                                                                                              

"Shoot me then! I won't kill this man, I refuse to," I screamed. I didn't care anymore, I was tired of these games.                                                                                                         

Less than a day, I chanted in my head like a mantra. Less than a day and we would be gone, all this would be over. So I was determined not to completely lose all of my soul because of these heartless people.                                            

I had already lost enough.                                                                                                     

"Alright, it's clear you don't care about your own life but what about his?" he challenged and changed the direction of his aim. Now the gun was resting against Chanyeol's temple and he asked, "still not going to shoot?"                                                    

Feeling panicked, I looked towards Chanyeol and met his eyes whilst trying to decide what I should do. I couldn't read his expression because it was neutral, he was keeping his emotions at bay for my sake. Even though I couldn't tell what he was feeling, I knew he wasn't as calm as he looked.                                      

I was almost certain this was a bluff but I couldn't be 100% sure, what if it wasn't and Vic actually killed him. It wasn't my life that was in danger and _I_ couldn't be the blame for the death of a friend. That would end me.                                                                              

Whatever I decided, either way, today someone was going to die because of me. It was a lose lose situation.                                                                                                              

"Fucking shoot that man or I'll blow his brains out," he shouted, jamming the gun roughly into Chanyeol's head. I froze unsure of what to do and I clenched the weapon in my hand. After realizing I needed more convincing, Vic motioned to Chanyeol and said, "know that it'll be his blood on your hands. Even with your little magic tricks, you won't be able to bring him back from the dead."                                                                       

Fear spiked through me because he was right. I could heal people even if they were holding onto life by just a thread but if there was no heartbeat, I was completely useless.                                                          

I looked towards Chanyeol once more and on closer inspection even with his blank expression I could see the fear in his eyes. I had made my decision. Choosing between a stranger and a friend, it was an easy choice to make but it didn't mean it was easy to go through with.

I raised my gun up towards the target with my hand trembling. The man was still struggling, unsuccessfully against his restraints and I closed my eyes tightly.

How could I possibly do this? How could I take an innocent person's life?                                                           

"I want you to hit the bullseyes," Vic commanded and I gripped the gun tighter.              

I hated him but I hated myself even more. I hated what I was made to do and what I was about to do. Beads of sweat ran down the back of my neck and my hands felt clammy against the gun as I gathered my courage.

I hated that I needed courage to kill someone as if I was doing something brave or noble, when in reality I was committing the worst sin of humanity.                                                                                                                             

I opened my eyes and my hand was still shaking, so I covered it with my other hand to steady myself. I told myself to imagine the target instead of the man's head and I took a deep breath. Without realizing I was crying, I felt a tear run down my cheek and Vic drawled, "we don't have all day."                                                                                                                                               

Trying to ignore his remark, I took another breath and tried to regain control of my emotions. I aimed and without another thought, I pulled the trigger.                                          

It was horrible. The worst sight I had ever witnessed. The bullet had gone straight through the middle of the man's forehead and instantly his body slouched in the chair. It wasn't just a simulation this time, it was real                                      

He was dead.                                                                                                                         

I had killed him with just a push of a button.                                                                        

That's all it took and I hated how physically easy it was. Mentally not so much. I knew this moment would be ingrained in my memory for the rest of my life and I couldn't come back from this. I had taken another man's life; my soul had been tarnished.                                                  

I let my body fall to the ground and my butt landed on the floor hard. I stared down at the gun in my hands whilst falling into a pit of guilt and self-loathing.                                           

I was angry. Angry at them and angry at myself.                                                                  

They had made me a murderer. They had made me a _monster_.                                          

Letting the pain, fury and guilt within me show, I screamed out in rage and launched the gun away from me. It hit the opposite wall with so much force that it shattered under the pressure.                                                                                                                                    

"You made me do this," I directed at Vic menacingly and all I could see was red. My emotions were in full control as I got up, advancing on him quickly. With the advantage of surprise, he didn't have time to react as I skilfully hit the gun out of his hand and it clattered against the ground a few feet away from us.                                                                                                     

Fear flickered briefly on his face and he was right to feel afraid. I was stronger, faster and he knew I could kill him if I wanted to. He wouldn't be able to stand a chance against me in a fight.                              

I threw a hard punch to his stomach making him stumble backwards a few steps before falling to the ground. He clutched at the sore area, no doubt winded and I was pretty sure I had heard bone cracking.                                                                                                                   

My rage propelled me forward and I didn't allow him anytime to recover as I climbed on top of him and punched him in the face. He reacted by laughing and I thought this man was absolutely insane. He was only making things worse for himself by taunting me.                                         

"YOU." I threw my arm back and punched him in the face again.                                       

"MADE." My emotions were in full control over my body now.                              

"ME." I screamed even louder and my voice started ringing in my ears.                             

"A." I punched again and finally when I shouted the last word my heart broke, "MURDERER."                                                                                                                                        

There was blood everywhere, on my knuckles and all over his face. It looked like I had done some damage and I knew his nose was broken, badly.                               

I was drained. That emotional display had taken all my energy. What had I become? Who had I become? I didn't even know anymore. I was dropping to their level and even though he deserved the beating, why did I feel so guilty looking at the blood on my hands.                        

"I'm not the one who made you a murderer," Vic croaked then cleared his throat. I was surprised he was still conscious and still trying to provoke me. I gripped his top threateningly as a warning and he spat blood to the side before continuing, "you really think I'm the one in charge here? I'm just doing my job kid and trying not to get killed. Maybe if you looked at the bigger picture, opened your eyes wider, you would see who your real enemy is."                                                                                                                        

"Enough!" someone finally shouted. I was surprised it had taken this long for someone to step in, no one had even tried to stopped me. Maybe they just didn't care enough. Vic was right, he wasn't the one in charge and even though he had some authority, he was just another guard, disposable.        

I looked up to see the voice belonged to Doctor Choi who was walking towards us. She was holding the controller in her raised hand and I knew what was coming.                                        

Electricity ran through me and pain rippled along my nerves. I lost all control of my body, going slack as I convulsed on the ground from the current.                                                                        

"This ought to do it," she said and that was the last thing I heard.                                     

***** 

I blinked several times, trying to shake the fatigue from my body. After a minute of lying still, someone by my side alerted, "he's awake guys!"                                                             

I sat up slowly and Kai asked, "how are you feeling?"                                                         

"Not my best," I answered with a dry throat. My body felt tired and my brain was still trying to recall the previous events. "What happened?"                                       

"After you attacked Vic, you were electrocuted and when that didn't work they tranquillized you," Xiumin explained.                                                                                      

No wonder I felt drowsy, I had been tranquillized liked some animal. Great. I ran my fingers through my hair and suddenly a thought came to my mind. Urgently I asked, "what day is it?"                                                                                                                                    

"It's D-day," Baekhyun said in a deep ominous voice. Shit, the time had finally come, the wait was over. Baekhyun's laugh interrupted the silence and he added, "sorry I always wanted to say that. Thought it'd be cool, like a line from a movie but it had the opposite effect, right?"                                                                                                                                                       

I laughed at his lameness and Suho said, "but it really is 'D-day', so prepare yourself. We need to stay alert and focused. Stick to the plan, we'll be starting in a few hours."                   

I nodded, feeling more determined from his little pep talk. However, I suddenly remember the events of yesterday and the sound of the gun rung through my head.               

"What happened with the target practice?" I asked quietly. I didn't want to know but I needed to.                                                                                                                                             

Xiumin cleared his throat whilst looking down at his hands and answered, "we each made our first kill yesterday. After you got knocked out, they made it clear there would be no tolerance for any more 'bullshit'."                                                                                            

A shudder ran through me after hearing his reply and I nodded solemnly. We were all in the same boat, blood had been spilled at the cause of our hands. The line had been blurred, we were no longer innocent but the blame didn't fall solely on us.                                

We had been forced to do it. Just like everything else that had been forced on us from the day we arrived here. I didn't remember what freedom felt like anymore but I hope that someday I would feel it again. Maybe today would be that day.                               

***** 

Today was another test. This time it didn't involve killing, instead we were being tested on our powers. How strong we were and how far we could push our limits.                  

I was nervous. There was a slight tremble in my hand so I gripped it, forcing it to still. I was being stupid, right now was not the time for this. I had to focus.                            

Fortunately for us, Baekhyun was picked first to go. He stepped into the center of the room, facing the targets while we watched from behind him, standing in a row.                                  

Baekhyun's ability to manipulate light, served more than just the power to brighten a dark room. He could control the amount and intensity of the light he created and could essentially form lazer beams.                                                                                              

They signalled for him to go when the targets started moving and he shot at them with amazing accuracy. Beams of light were flying all over, forming a dazzling light show. It even started to look like an optical illusion as the targets moved faster. When he was done I was fairly dizzy and I wanted to shut my eyes, to give them some relief. However, I needed to concentrate so I ignored my body's reaction and kept them open.                                                                                                                                                            

The next test was combining combat with our abilities. We would have to fight and overpower twenty highly trained professions in as little time as possible. I hoped this wouldn't drastically tire Baekhyun out as there was still a third round.                         

When the clock started, Baekhyun didn't hesitate to begin taking out his opponents as they surrounded him. Each one tried to attack him when he least expected it but he blocked them off with punches, kicks, lazer beams and blasts of energy balls which made men go flying across the room.                                                                                                                                                          

It was a magnificent sight to behold and it looked like this was what he was made for. The power of our abilities combined with our training had proven to show outstanding results judging by Baekhyun's performance.                                                                                            

I watched as he flipped a man, double his size, over his shoulder like he was rag doll. Another guard went in for an uppercut but Baekhyun had already seen it coming. He quickly tapped into his powers and instead of using it excessively, he simply blinded the man with a shot of light to his eyes. When the guard lost balance, he knocked him out with a single high kick to the face.

The man landed on the ground with a thud whilst another charged at Baekhyun from behind. In reaction to his attacker, he formed an energy ball in his hand and threw it backwards at full force, knocking the guard to the ground with a blast.                                   

One by one they fell, until a pile of unconscious bodies surrounded him. Breathing deeply from exertion, he pretended to sweep the dust off his body in a boastful manner. The timer had stopped at exactly one minute and smugness was emanating from him.        

"Very impressive," said his doctor, a slightly younger man with square glasses and very dark brown hair. Strangely, he looked like he was playing Clark Kent cosplay. "One more round left. This time we want you to show us everything you've got and don't hold back."                              

Baekhyun nodded and waited till the space around him was cleared of bodies. Then he started to glow, slowly at first, just a dim light illuminating his skin and he looked like how I'd imagine an angel would. His skin was shimmering light as he started to move his hands in slow motions and I assumed he was forming something.                                                    

The light was becoming more intense while he wielded the energy in his hands into a ball. It started to grow until he disappeared from view and all we could see was a giant ball of light.                                                      

Suddenly a blood curling scream ripped from his body. Something had happened. I closed my eyes tightly and prepared myself. I heard a thud from the distance and I was pretty sure Baekhyun's body had hit the ground as he collapsed. I assumed he had lost control and dropped the ball of light, causing it to exploded because everything was bright, even with my eyes closed.                                        

By this point, everyone with their eyes opened would definitely be blinded. Baekhyun was still screaming and it sounded horrible, like he was in complete agony and I walked forward towards the sound, using my hearing as guidance.                                                                                                                                

There was a lot of panicked shouting and I heard people stumbling blindly through the bright haze. Even with my eyes closed the light was insanely intense, all I could see was white. The other boys started yelling Baekhyun's name from all over the room in worried voices and I rushed forwards.                                                                                                       

Finally, a hand touched mine and I felt relieved.

"Did it work?" I asked quietly.                

"Yes, he's gone now but he'll be back soon so be prepared. Stay here, okay?" Baekhyun whispered and I nodded.                                                            

"By the way, your acting skills are spot on. I would've believed it if I hadn't known," I joked in a whisper. He punched me in the arm as a reaction but didn't reply as he had to quickly leave to carry out the next step of the plan.                                                                                           

Even though it had been a joke, I had actually meant it. Baekhyun had played his part tremendously. If I hadn't known it was all an act and the screams were fake, I would've totally thought he had lost control of his powers and was severely injured.                                                                                                                       

By now, minutes had passed and the doctors and guards were still clueless, scrabbling about to regain control of the situation. I counted the seconds and waited patiently for the next move and I felt giddy because things were going according to plan.                                                           

Even with my eyes shut I could feel bodies next to me and I was glad.                               

Abruptly, the lights went out and it was pitch black. The contrast was too sudden but I felt relieved that there was no more brightness. Any longer and I think my eyes would've burned out of their sockets.                                                                                                                                      

I looked to my left and Kai had teleported next to me and I was surrounded by the other guys. He whispered quietly, "it's done. They've been deactivated."                                                                                                     

Relief filled my body and hope soared as I thought about how close freedom was. We were truly finally leaving.                                                                                               

Torches lit up the darkness as the guards tried to search for us. I gripped onto Kai's arm tightly and waited for Baekhyun, Chen and Kyungsoo as they started running from the other side of the room.                                                                                                                       

The guard's footsteps were becoming louder causing my heart to beat faster. Sweat dripped down the side of my face and I prayed they wouldn't find us. We would be gone soon, in less than a minute.                                                                                                               

Finally, the others reached us and grabbed onto Kai. He had been taking deep breaths to prepared himself but as all eight of us latched on to him. Then he stopped breathing all together and closed his eyes. A bright flash flickered over us and I held my breath as well.                                                                                                                               

"1, 2, --" Kai didn't finish, he had been interrupted by a thud. Something was wrong, I felt it through the skin to skin contact and my power fired up from deep within.                                                                                                              

"He's been hit," I alerted the others.                                                       

"I found them!" someone shouted and quick footsteps started towards us.             

We were so screwed. We had been caught, again.                                                              

Letting go of Kai, we laid him on the ground. From closer inspection I realized a dagger had hit him right in the center of his chest. Missing his heart by a fraction.                       

I pulled it out of him and he whimpered in pain. Quickly, I set my hand on his chest, feeling the sticky blood coating my hands. I ignored the gross sensation and let my power flow through me into him. I started to feel the wound knit back up and I willed my power to work faster.                                                                                                                                                

"What do we do now?" Sehun asked panicked.                                                                      

"Everyone calm down, we've discussed this before. Plan B," Chen replied firmly.                   

I sighed deeply and we looked to one another with resignation. We would have to do this the hard way then since the easy option had disappeared with a dagger to Kai's chest.                               

"Now, we fight," Chanyeol said with determination in his eyes and fire started glowing from his hands.

 


	10. Chanyeol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a long one but now that things are starting to get heated up, there's lots to write! Also, sorry for how long it took but I hope you guys enjoy it - exoxouniverse

"Now, we fight," I said to the others while we were huddled over Kai's body. Heat radiated from under my skin and my power rumbled in response, waiting to be used. My hands started to glow from the flames they were holding and adrenaline ran through my body as I prepared for battle.

From my peripheral vision, I could see the guards racing towards us so I quickly got to my feet. Without looking back, I charged forwards into the crowd of attackers, hoping the others would follow my lead. 

My heart raced from the excitement kicking in as the beast within me roared, wanting to be set free. So I let it go. Fire erupted from my hands, in streams of heat, shooting towards the sea of men dressed in black.

Red and orange flames lit up the dark, chasing down its prey with ease and leaving behind a trail of smoke and ash. It was a beautiful blaze of disaster and chaos, terrifying yet magnificent.

I knew, to the guards, this was just a job. They were men who probably had mouths to feed and bills to pay, who were following orders from higher-ups that didn't care about their lives. They weren't the real enemy. Instead they were just men on the front lines–collateral damage–protecting the real monsters who sat back and watched from safety.

As much as I wanted to just maim them, I couldn't. In this situation, it was near impossible to tame the flames I had created. After being released from my hold, they were wild and uncontrollable. I couldn't focus my attack on individuals, there were just too many of them, so I had to resort to a wide-ranging offense.

Unlike the others, my power, was meant for destruction. I realized early on, how easy it was to be the cause of havoc and the consequences that came with it. The guilt.

Accidents. I had always blamed casualties on accidents, reasoning that I didn't know what I was doing and I had no control over it. No one blamed me but that didn't matter.People had been hurt by my hands before, my power. Even though they were the ones hurting me to begin with, that didn't ease my conscience. I didn't do it intentionally but I had still caused harm to others.

I learnt the hard way, that there was nothing merciful about fire. There was a reason parents often warned their children not to play with it. Because it didn't just sting, it _burned_.

Fire was dangerous and right now I couldn't keep track of all the damage I was creating. And this terrified me to no end.

As I fought, screams of agony caused by my inferno, surrounded me. I tried my best to ignore it while justifying my actions and pleading my innocence to my conscience. I was despicable and shame was threating to swallow me whole. However, there were more pressing matters at hand so I quieted the ravenous demon within and let my flames devour all my remorse.

My intentions, against the guards, weren't from anger or spite. I was just trying to protect myself and my friends. Unluckily for them, they were just an obstacle obstructing our path to freedom.

I had made my decision the moment I released my fire. If I had to unleash hell on earth, for the sake of survival, then so be it. I was determined. I would come out on the other side, alive.

We would escape and I would do whatever it took to do so. Even if it meant selling my myself to the devil. But after the heinous things they had done to us and made us do, I was sure Satan himself already had my soul in the palm of his hand.

On my left, Xiumin was fighting alongside me, freezing and punching his way through the masses and on my right Chen was holding his own, shooting lightning bolts in all directions. However, even with all our efforts, they just kept coming.

We were seriously outnumbered and if this continued on, we would likely tire soon or our powers would deplete. We were fighting an army, all of them against the nine of us. Actually, we were down to seven, with Kai injured and Lay trying to heal him, they were of no use offensively.

It was safe to say; the odds definitely weren't in our favour.

All those months of scheming had gone to waste because the plan hadn't worked. Although, at least the first part had been a success, disabling the collars and regaining our powers had been a vital step.

The majority of it had depended on Kai because his ability was too convenient to not take full advantage of. Now looking back though, it hadn't been the best idea to put all our eggs in one basket.

For months, every time we were allowed to practise using our powers in training, we had set Kai to the task of exploring. Even though his collar had GPS installed, we had figured out if he jumped quickly enough, it would be too hard for even technology to locate him.

He was essentially untraceable since there was no signal when he jumped in and out of existence. So he explored the compound, searching every nook and cranny of the building. Eventually, he found what we were looking for: the main control room.

It was where all the real behind the scenes operations went down. Where they controlled our training stimulations, CCTV and most importantly, our collars. After that, we just needed to figure out how to disable it.

Luckily, they had been regularly training us in coding and hacking. So when they weren't watching, we would spend every spare moment working on a solution in our cells. The smarter guys—Suho, Xiumin and Chen would take the lead whilst the rest of us helped. Not long after, we figured out a working code and all that was left to do was set the plan in motion.

From the moment they told us they would be testing our abilities, we knew we could use it to our advantage. So we came up with what we thought was the perfect plan: to use Baekhyun as a distraction while Kai did the real work.

Pretending to lose control and blinding everyone had been the diversion we needed. Once Baekhyun hit the highest light intensity he could, panic from loss of sight begun to surge through the crowd of overseers. While the guards bumbled about, he had focused his laser beam towards Kai's collar, frying the circuit and temporarily disabling it. On the que of Baekhyun's fake scream, acting as a signal, Kai teleported to the control room.

I assumed he easily took out the few operators who were stationed there and successfully hacked the system, entering our code. The rest of us had the task of keeping up the distraction and evading any suspicion for as long as Kai was gone. All while we gathered together and waited for his return.

Once he had teleported back to the training room, where chaos still ensued, we only had one more step to complete. However, our chance of escape had disappeared when the dagger embedded into Kai's chest.

Now everything was an uncertainty. Sure, we had a 'Plan B' but that entirely depended on winning this battle. We _needed_ to win.

Anxiety flittered through me and worry penetrated my mind. Fighting our way out of here was one thing but Kai's injury was just another impediment. A chest wound so close to his heart didn't seem like an easy fix and we didn't have time for setbacks but we also wouldn't leave without him, that was for sure.

So, we would have to make time for this delay and deal with the dire situation as best as we could. From the beginning, I knew this wasn't going to be easy and none of us expected it to be.

Best case scenario: we would've teleported across the country by now. However, we knew nothing ever worked out that simply, so we had prepared for a worst-case scenario. Where blood would be spilled—either ours or theirs.

When I turned back, I was glad to see Baekhyun, Sehun and Kyungsoo had formed a protective barrier around the two. Kai was currently sprawled out on the ground, lying in a puddle of his own blood and it looked like a crime scene. Lay had cut open his training T-shirt, just enough so that the hideous wound was revealed.

I didn't have to question why because, from experience, I knew that it was easier from him to heal when there was skin to skin contact. Unfortunately, I had been on the receiving end of Lay's remedying touch too many times to count.

During the experiments, they would torch me and set me ablaze, leaving 3rddegree burns all over my body on a daily basis. Luckily, Lay was always there to repair my charred skin and heal the wounds so scars wouldn't form.

Even though he couldn't heal the pain from the horrors faced, he washed away the physical torture inflicted upon my body, clearing the residue and evidence of the cruelty forced upon me. And I would be forever grateful.

Lay did the same for Kai, patching him up, as he crouched over his body with both hands covering the wound and intense focus written across his face. All while violence and chaos surrounded them and the others fended off attackers, ensuring there would be no interruption to the healing process.

Distraction could be costly; one wrong move could cause detrimental effects and inflict more pain than that of the wound. It would take longer to undo the mistake and Lay would have to start all over again. So, we would have to do everything in our power to make sure that didn't happen.

Even if Kai's wound fully recovered, I didn't think he would be able to make the original jump we had planned, especially with the weight of eight others. He would be too weak and I was certain his energy and power levels would be drained. So right now, our main focus was to get him healed enough so he could support and maybe even defend himself during the rest of our escape.

Abruptly, I was tackled to the ground. I had lost concentration and I didn't see the attacker charging towards me from by blindside. I landed hard on the outside of the training mats but luckily, I had braced my body into a protective position before I fell.

Taking advantage of my predicament, the guard had gotten a hold of both my arms, pinning my body to the ground. He started yelling for backup while his face turned red from the struggle of keeping me down. He wouldn't be able to hold for much longer, I was too strong and he knew it.

More men piled on top of me, grabbing onto my limbs and restricting any possible movement. I was out of options, I would have to resort to the hard way then and it was going to be ugly. From this close contact, if I lit up, it meant instant death for my assailants. _That_ was what I was trying to avoid.

Just as I was about to fry them, someone struck me with a tazerbaton, right in the stomach. The flame within me stuffed out as I convulsed in agony underneath the mass of bodies restraining me. I wanted to curl up from the pain but I couldn't as my limbs were stretched out and pinned down. To say I was in a vulnerable position was the understatement of the year. God, this was bad.

The shocks started to wear off and my power stirred inside me. If I could just hold them off for a bit longer, until my abilities had restored, then I could maybe get free. However, I realized I had no luck, as I watched the same guard raise the electric weapon over his head and bring it down again. I prepared my body for the blow even though I knew it wouldn't change the outcome. However, it never came.

Sparks lit up the dark and suddenly the weapon was knocked out my abuser's grip. The baton spun fast in mid-air and as it came sailing downwards, Chen caught it with one outreach hand above his head.

The electricity from the weapon travelled down his arm and through his body in a wave of blue sparkles. Instantly a wicked smile transformed his face while he had absorbed the current from the tazer.

He was now abuzz and you could see the excitement in his body language. Confidence seeped out of his stance and the guards had noticed it too. Trying to deal with the new threat and deciding I was no longer lethal, some stood up to take a defensive position.

Chen's eyes gleamed with power as he propelled forward fearlessly. The guard closest, lunged towards him but he was prepared. Quickly dodging the attack, Chen hit the man in the chest with a flat palm, shocking him with a high voltage. The force of the blow launched the man backwards across the room before he landed on the ground unconscious.

Another guard came forward with speed and Chen raised the baton to deliver a backhand across the man's face. With a hit that hard I wasn't surprised when the guard immediately fell to the ground, knocked out.

Skillfully he spun the baton in the air, flipping the direction of his attack as he heard someone approach from behind. Striking the guard in the stomach, he doubled over in pain and lost his balance as Chen easily swiped his feet out from underneath him.

Turning on the tazer, he swung it towards every threat, hitting exactly where he intended. He was graceful yet he had a swagger of confidence that gave his movements personality.

He never rushed, taking his time and letting his opponents approach him first. He utilized the baton with certainty, twirling it between his fingers and striking opponents with deadly power, showcasing his training and impressive finesse.

I realized Chen was saving his power supply by mainly using the weapon to advance, with a high kick or uppercut in between. He was already thinking ahead since exhausting our powers this early wasn't a smart move.

Later on in the battle, it would make a hell of a difference because that's when we would be tired and need rely on our abilities the most. There was a lot of fighting still to be done and if we were to win, we needed more than just our powers. We needed to stay sharp and outsmart them.

There was a lot of panicked shouting as Chen got closer, calling for backup and mentions of a new collar had my anxiety spiking. The devices around our neck had been disabled but maybe they had spares. Until now, it hadn't crossed my mind that they had made more of those horrid creations.

This news made me struggle harder against the men holding me down but it wasn't much use. I couldn't possibly overpower the eight guards that had secured me to the ground. Yes, I was strong but I was no Hulk.

Although, now that some time had passed, I felt more energized as embers flared within me. My powers were nearly recovered! All I needed was a little more time and I would be good to go again.

That high voltage shock had done a number on me, easily killing the fire but now my patience was wearing thin. I wanted to fight and it was too frustrating having to watch as the battle raged on while I was completely useless.

As more guards raced forwards, in attempt to stop Chen, he met them blow after blow and they all dropped like flies. I wasn't surprised to see he had worked up a sweat from the exertion since he had probably taken out more than thirty guards. And now, there was only one line of men left between us.

Instead of the hand to hand combat he had previously focusedon, lightning shot from his hands towards the mass of bodies in front of him. Immediately, the final wave of guards crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Wow, that had been too easy and too fast. After seeing Chen's last attack, I realized a lot of time had been wasted and I joked, "maybe you should've just done that from the beginning."

"Shut up," Chen mumbled under his breath and planted both hands on his knees, trying to regain his composure. He held up his finger signaling to give him a minute and I laughed at the ridiculous situation.

This moment was too real. Before, I hadn't been fighting long enough so my energy levels were still good but to see Chen drained was a reality check. Even though we were faster, stronger and had better stamina, we still tired like humans.

It was strange to actually witness though because in movies, they only show you the action scenes. You never saw the reality of the situation, where people actually did run out of breath but I guess this wasn't fiction which meant things usually sucked a lot more.

In all honesty, we wouldn't be able to keep this up and fight forever. If they kept throwing bodies our way like this, we were going to lose. That was the reality.

Once Chen recovered, he stood to full height. With one final deep breath and a shrug of his shoulders, he added, "sorry about that but I _really_ needed a break."

The few guards that remained unharmed, were seriously confused. They didn't know whether to attack him or keep restraining me but deciding on the latter, they stayed put. Once again Chen advanced quickly, not giving them a chance to get up, he ripped them away from my body and they went flying.

When I was finally free, he helped me up off the ground and I patted him on the back as a thanks. Then he advised, "next time, maybe don't let thempin you to the ground."

"Don't worry, there won't be a next time," I answered coolly, trying to pick my pride off the floor. He laughed at my hidden embarrassment but it was abruptly cut off when he realized there was a new wave of guards surrounding us. He sighed once and rubbed the sweat off his forehead, "you ready?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I replied and took a calming breath.

"That isn't very reassuring to hear," he countered dryly. I reach deep down into the void, where the embers sparked and threatened to ignite. I looked to Chen and he gave me a determined nod. Replying to his gesture, I said, "on the count of three."

He turned around so we were now back to back, ensuring we weren't defenceless from behind. He started to count, "1, 2 –"

I didn't hear the last number being called as the sound of electrical static filled my ears. It didn't matter though, on three, I had released my fire at the same time Chen let go of his lightning.

Two elements, equally as deadly, causing more havoc than I had ever witnessed. I saw the faces of my victims just before the fire caught them, fear transforming their expressions into ones of alarm and frozen horror. At the unsettling image, shivers dance across my spine and goose bumps rippled along my skin.

My fire spread like the plague and there wasn't much I needed to do since the guards blinded by panic and pain did the job themselves too effectively. It was a horrid sight to behold, the combination of burning carnage and the smell of flesh staining the air. Yet, I felt powerful.

My ego fed off the chaos and terrified faces. They all feared me and something dark inside of me liked it. I held so much raw power and strength in the palm ofmy hand and the part of me that wasn't human thrived off the feeling. The beast within roaring in response, sounded like music to my ears.

I was conflicted though. I _knew_ I shouldn't feel this way and it was so wrong of me to feel this way. But I did. So did that make me a bad person?

That was a question I didn't have the answer to, yet. Maybe one day, after all of this, I would look back and know for sure. But right now, it was so difficult to tell when the lines easily blurred and my emotions played me like a puppet. At times, it felt as though I had no control over myself, over my actions and that made me dangerous.

Evil and good. It was hard to strike a balance between the two. Every time I felt that raw power, it was like the devil within was persuading me to ignore the good. Especially when it was so much easier to not care and just to be _bad_.

And sometimes I gave into it.

Feasting off the high from the energy, I blasted another wave of fire towards the guards who had come too close for my liking. On the other side of me Chen was attacking his opponents with ferocity but with the guards surrounding us from all directions, we were still on our defensive game. It was starting to become a cycle. After taking out one line of men, another would just replace them.

"Why does it feel like they're multiplying? They just keep coming!" Chen yelled from behind me, clearly frustrated.

Eventually, they were getting closer and closer until they were within reaching distance of us. At this point, from my constant blasts, I was nearly out of fuel. I needed to recharge my power so I had to resort to hand to hand combat.

Suddenly, a man came charging like a bull towards me. He was absolutely monstrous, standing nearly a foot taller than me. Out of the nine of us, I was the tallest and that was something I took pride in but this man, if I could even call him that, was abnormal.

His muscles were bulging as he ran towards me and the little boy inside was screaming at me to run away. I wasn't even ashamed of my instincts because of the sheer size of this guy. Where did they even find him? Maybe he was a failed experiment, I mean that would explain it nicely. I wouldn't even be surprised if he was on every steroid known to man.

Ignoring my cowardly thoughts, I prepared for his attack. At least I had the upper hand in one thing: speed. At his size he was bound to be slow, so if I stayed light on my feet and nibble, maybe I would make it out alive. Unless he sat on me...I didn't think I would survive _that_.

As he approached, I quickly dodged his tackle and he stepped on the brakes. Not before I landed a kick against his back, making him topple over and crash into the ground with momentum. Fighting off another guard, I delivered a blow to the chest with the base of my foot connecting with his body. He flew backwards, hitting the concrete wall hard and I kind of felt bad for the guy.

From behind someone gripped my T-shirt and yanked me backwards. Losing balance, I crashed to the ground but thankfully the training mat was there to soften my landing. Hurriedly, getting to my feet I surveyed my opponent, realizing it was the beast of a man from before and he looked angry. Maybe it was to do with his bloodied face, I guess it took the brunt of the weight when I shoved him to the ground.

Lord have mercy on me.

Taking advantage of my positioning, I landed a hard uppercut to his jaw and then another but I think he damaged my hand more I did his face. I shook my hand out and clenched it again, hoping none of my fingers were broken and I bounced on my toes whilst holding both arms in front of my face for protection.

He swung at me from the left and I ducked just time. Catching him off guard, he had left his mid-section unprotected so I drilled a few punches into his gut. It was like punching a brick wall though and this time I wasn't joking, I think my fingers truly might've broken after that. Now, would be a really good time to regain my powers but my body wasn't listening to me. From the corner of my eye, I saw another guard racing towards me so I turned to the challenger and ignored my current opponent. I kicked my leg out high and his face slammed right into my foot at speed, knocking him to the ground.

Catching me off guard, the monster of a man swung at me from the right, connecting with the side of my face and the force of it brought me straight to the ground. God, not the face, anywhere but the face.

I mean who could blame me for thinking that. I was a pretty good-looking guy who was gifted with a straight nose and I wanted it to stay that way. However, if I ever broke a bone, Lay could probably just fix it, right? As I laid on the ground, I hoped the only damage done was one of those bruises that gave me a bad-boy vibe.

It hurt like a bitch though and my head throbbed from the pain but brushing it off, I slowly got up. Seeing that I was struggling, Chen turned his attention on my attacker and started where my fight left off. He was able to land a few solid hits here and there but it wasn't enough.

Once I recovered and was standing again, I darted with speed towards the wall Chen had pushed him up against. The guard pushed back hard, knocking Chen to the ground and towered over him. As I reached the wall I sped up, using my momentum, I kicked off it and jumped onto his back.

Spinning my body around swiftly, I manoeuvred my legs so they were clenched between his neck and I let my weight fall down. I landed on my back, with the training mat to support my fall and the man toppled over with me. I clenched my thighs around his neck as tightly as possible, using all the strength I had while he struggled to overpower me. Quickly, I croaked out, "some help please?"

Instantly Chen's hands sparked and he planted both of them on the guard's chest like a doctor would with a defibrillator. After shocking him with electricity, he was out cold and I let go of my grip around his neck.

"That dude just wouldn't die," I breathed heavily as I laid sprawled out on the mat, my body refusing to get up.

"We didn't kill him Chanyeol," Chen said with a pointed look but agreed, "he was pretty sturdy though. I'm seriously curious, where do they even find people like that?"

From behind, someone came lunging for Chen, attempting to grab onto his shoulder while he was crouched over the unconscious man. Since I was facing the new attacker, I yelled for him to duck and launched a fireball from the close range, effectively taking him out. Thankfully, some of my energy had come back because that could've been a bad situation if not.

Suddenly, someone yanked me up off the ground and pinned me against the wall. Strangely, I hit glass instead of concrete and I realized I was up against a window. It was actually one of those one-way mirrors they used in interrogation rooms. They never stated that but it was too obvious not to be. A random mirror at the side of a training gym? Yeah, there was definitely a control room on the other side.

Seeing I was in trouble, Chen fired up his electricity and aimed towards my attacker. I ducked out the way, waiting for the hit but it never came. A guard had taken advantage of Chen's crouched position by kneeing him in the back of his head. So he lost focus and missed.

Instead of hitting his target, he shot the glass to my left and I heard it crack. I was in a bad position and didn't want to be under the mirror if it broke. Shards of glass suck in my skin didn't sound at all appealing.

The missed attempt was enough distraction that my attacker had lost concentration. Quickly, I took a cheap shot, kneeing him in the balls and he clutched onto the area down below, paralyzed in pain. I have to say, it wasn't my not best moment but it worked pretty damn effectively.

I grabbed him by the collar and spun around smashing his body against the glass, hopefully hard enough to knock him out. However, I guess I had been too forceful because his body went right through, breaking the right side of the window.

I had been right, it was some sort of control room. There were screens everywhere and before them sat a few computer engineers I had never seen before. But there was one face I did recognize as I made direct eye contact.

Standing in front of me was Doctor Choi.

Shocked, I let go of the man I was holding onto and paused, not knowing what to do. She was always perfectly composed, with not one hair out of place. Yet, now she was dishevelled with sweat staining her pale face, a rumpled lab coat and messy hair. She had a bunch of untidy papers in her hands and I could tell she was searching for something. Something important.

Seeing her, spiked my rage and suddenly my power felt rejuvenated as heat boiled under my skin. I stretched my hands out in front of me and the control room exploded in panic. Instantly, Doctor Choi clutched the papers to her chest and bolted out the room. They others knew what I was going to do next and they tried scrambling out after her. However, some didn't make it that far as I torched the room with no remorse.

I had to go after her.

I turned to look back and it was chaos. Men were screaming and fists were flying. Powers shot across the room: ice, light, water and chunks of the ground was missing which I guessed was Kyungsoo's doing. There were still a lot of men in black making me wonder if this fight would ever end.

I knew I shouldn't leave but the only thought I had on my mind was vengeance. It was now or never. Without another glance, I jumped through the window into the fire I created. The heat on my skin felt comforting to me like a blanket of warmth, not the searing temperature that others felt.

I ran through the door Doctor Choi had and I was brought into a long hallway. Sprinting as fast as I could down it, I followed the sound of heels clanking against the hard ground.

I was quickly catching up to her and now I could see her lab coat flapping in front of me as she ran. Hearing my footsteps become louder, she turned around to see how close I was. The panic across her face was clear and she was smart enough to be afraid. Abruptly halting in front of a door, she skidded a little from the momentum and her unsuitable footwear.

Before I could grab her, she entered the room and the door slid shut behind her. Quickly stopping, I banged against the door but it didn't budge. I had been so close. Frustrated I gave it another hard shove out of anger but there was no reaction and I cursed under my breath.

On closer inspection, there was no knob on the door. Instead, there was a scanner on the wall, so I assumed it opened using some eye or fingerprint recognition technology.

So, this would have to be done the hard way. Placing both of my hands on the leftside of the door, near the edge, I willed all my energy to that area. Heating my hands up as hot as possible, they started to glow bright red.

The door was metal so it would take a while to melt but that didn't matter to me. I would get my vengeance, however long it took. "You can't stay in there forever you know. Sooner or later, this door won't be able to protect you," I taunted wickedly.

I heard banging from within and I wondered what had caused the noise. Concentrating on the task at hand, I tried to increase the temperature until my palms started to sting but it was working. Slowly but surely the door was melting.

I didn't have a plan. I wasn't even thinking straight and my emotions were controlling my actions. I didn't know what I was going to do, all I knew was the past two years had been filled with nothing but pain and torture. I had been stripped from my family, taken from my home and treated like a barbaric animal.

I had been experimented on in the worst ways possible, humiliated and now after all this cruelty, I was bitter. I was angry and filled with rage. Something horrid and dark had grown inside of me and they were to blame for it.

Before all of this, I had been a boy, pure and innocent but after the horrors I had witnessed and experienced, I could never be that again. I was different now: something unnatural and inhuman.

It wasn't my fault, none of this was my fault. It was theirs, _hers_.

As molten metal dripped between my fingers, I knew the door wouldn't hold much longer. So to speed the process along, I shoved my shoulder hard against it, causing it to give way. Bursting into the room, I was surprised to be met with a small lab instead of a panic room. The cabinets that lined the walls were filled with chemicals but it was mess, with needles and syringes littering the ground.

In this room, there was nowhere to hide and Doctor Choi was standing near the back wall, as far away as possible. She was breathing deeply and in her shaky hands, she held a gun pointed towards me. "Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" she yelled.

Before she could even cock the gun, I lungedforward and with a simple maneuver I knocked it out of her hands. Shock marred her face once she registered she was no longer clenching the weapon and had no protection. The gun clattered to the floor across the room and she instantly cowered from me but she had nowhere to go.

"Please don't hurt me!" she begged. I laughed bitterly and said with no emotion, "like the way you hurt us?"

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. This was the first time I had ever witnessed her speechless. She didn't know what to say and her lack of words made my blood boil.

"Do you even feel remorse for what you've done? Sticking needles into our skin day after day, injecting poison into our blood and telling us it was for our own good. You repeatedly burned the skin off my body, trying to change my physical make up whilst blaming your cruelty on the progression of evolution."

"Do you know how it feels to have your flesh melting from your body and you have no other option but to adapt and survive it? Do you know the horrors and nightmares that follow me every day because of what you've done to me, to _us_?" I clenched my fists tightly whilst recalling the pain and injustice I had endured, before continuing, "I have demons that will haunt me for the rest of my life and even if I kill you today, they will never go away."

She looked less afraid now but no less disheveled. She was a disaster. Sweat had ruined her usually perfect make up with black lining her eyes from smudged mascara. Her neat bun had come undone and her hair was a mess of black ink, spilling in front of her face and sticking to the perspiration. Her lab coat had been dirtied, whilst her black dress was wrinkled and somehow her tights had ripped.

Looking like this she was pitiful, such a contrast to her usual pristine image but I felt no sympathy for her. This is what she deserved.

"An eye for an eye," I stated as fire begun to sear from my right hand. She finally made eye contact with me and a tear rolled down her cheek whilst she said, "you're forgetting the end of that quote: an eye for an eye makes the whole world _blind_."

"Don't think for a second because you shed some tears and preach some moral bullshit about vengeance, that I won't kill you right this second," I spat.

"Don't worry, I know and I won't stop you," she said calmly and there was a change to her. Somehow, she had become resolved, like she had accepted this was her fate. "I know fine well of the sins I have committed and the pain I have caused. I deserve it. Whatever vengeance you plan to inflict on me, I deserve it all."

She laughed but it was completely humorless and a bit hysterical. "The funny thing is, I never meant for this to happen, _they_ were the ones who forced me. I only wanted to improve the world, change it for the better but I guess I lost sight of that. Motivation, greed and curiosity, I had too much of it and that was my downfall. When they offered me something I couldn't refuse, I didn't even think further that my own selfishness and agreed to their terms. When I realized what I was doing and how wrong it was, they had already taken what was important to me and it was too late to turn back. I had gone too far and now here I am."

I hadn't noticed the fire I was holding had ceased and my hand was now by my side. I was curious and I couldn't help but question her further, "what the hell are you talking about? Who forced you? _You're_ the one who did this to us, _you're_ the one who turned us into monsters."

"How little you know," she sighed. "Yes, I played my part in this game but I am not the mastermind like all of you think I am. I'm just a doctor, a scientist."

"Care to expand?" I asked irritated. I was losing my patience now and I wondered if she was just buying her time, waiting for the right moment to attack or for someone to come save her.

"I hadn't been lying before—nearly twelve years ago now, a little boy and his mother _did_ come to the hospital I was working at. I tested his blood and that was how I discovered the EXO gene. As I said before, it was like nothing I had ever seen, something miraculous and unique. I have always been curious, even as a child, it was in my nature to want to learn and discover new things. It's my strongest trait but also my biggest flaw. So, naturally, I became obsessed," she explained and shook her head in what looked like regret.

"For years I tried to prove myself to others. To show the world I wasn't crazy and this gene, this never seen before piece of DNA was the breakthrough of our century. I quit my job and all I did for those first few years was research. I published report after report and others continuously doubted me, saying I was absurd. I had lost contact with the child so there was no proof or evidence that someone like him was even real or alive. I became a laughing stock, a madwoman, and even my family thought I was troubled."

The look in her eyes was scary as she stared into space. I could tell she had fallen into her own story and it was as if she had been reliving it. In a way she looked haunted and maybe others had been right about her, maybe she had become mad.

"One day someone approached me, and now looking back, I should've stopped then and there. I shouldn't have gotten into that black van. They told me they were an organization called Evolve and like me they had the same intentions: to change the world for the better. They said they had read my reports and thought my discoveries were fascinating. They were willing to support my project and fund anything I needed so that I could become successful. The deal was too good. They were offering me more money than I had ever come into contact with and giving me a chance to do what I wanted my whole life. I was young and naïve at the time, filled with ambition and this was my dream. In the haze of happiness and greed, I never thought to question them once and that was a foolish mistake. So I took the deal, not knowing that I had signed away my life and my freedom."

At this point, tears were silently falling. She didn't sob and she didn't wipe them away. Instead, she let them roll freely down her face, almost ignoring them. Her body seemed heavily as she slid down the wall, defeated. Letting her head lean against it, she closed her eyes.

"After, I didn't stop working. I travelled the world, trying to find a serum that would effectively activate the gene and like all scientists, I nearly went insane. Thankfully though, I came across the poison of a dart frog which became the main ingredient to the serum. This was my first step of success and Evolve were more than happy with me. So as a bonus, I received a lump sum of money that I couldn't possibly refuse and it was the first of many."

"Only after this advancement, did I realize how limited the EXO gene actually was. However, they told me not to worry and that they would provide subjects for me. I never thought it would be unwilling subjects though, I assumed this organization abided by the law. I didn't know how they found you but I guess they had the technology to do so. Only nine out of seven billion people in the world. What an unfortune fate."

She looked towards me with sympathy but her eyes were still empty. "After finding the nine of you, they laid down your pictures in front of me and told me they wanted weapons. They said they would achieve this by using my research but I instantly refused. I remember staring at the pictures on the table, some of you at school smiling with friends and others with family. That's when I realized how deep I had gotten; how delusional I had become. I thought to myself, these boys were just children, barely adults and they were telling me to do unspeakable things to them. I didn't even know who I was anymore and I sure as hell didn't know who Evolve really were. I asked myself, how could I be so blinded and how could I have been so foolish."

She tsked three times, the sound echoing through the room and the remorse was clear as day on her face. "From the beginning, the offer they made was too good to be true and of course there was a reason: I was being paid to eventually torture humans. I told them I couldn't do it and I wouldn't do it so I quit and threatened to burn all my research. I had left for good, or so I thought."

Another hysterical laugh bubbled out of her and she clamped her hand over her mouth to stop it. Once she calmed down again, she continued, "but when you deal with the devil you can never sever all ties. Afterwards I lived in fear, knowing that they would come for me eventually but they came for the ones I loved instead. They blackmailed me, saying if I didn't do as I originally agreed, my family wouldn't live to see another day. I didn't doubt them because I knew what they were capable of, it wasn't just a threat. They made sure I knew that when they took my baby sister and beat her to a pulp just to send a message. So I did what I had to."

She wiped her hands down her face and she looked drained from recalling the memories of her past. "So they brought you in, striped you from you family, your lives and I injected that nasty serum into your body every day. I tortured you, inflicting pain that no one should be able to survive, until I achieved the results I needed. All because I was selfish. I was looking out for myself and the people I loved."

"So, there you have it. The nine of you are my greatest accomplishment, you are the truest form of evolution. But every time I look at you I want to scratch my eyes out because you remind me of what I've done. I turned you into a monster and in doing so I became a one myself."

I didn't know how to react, it was all too much. I didn't know what were lies and what was the truth. I didn't know what to believe or who to believe. She was convincing but was it all just an act?

Whilst she relayed her story, I had felt sympathetic towards her. If what she said was true, then she had also been forced into this. However, she had made her choice: to save herself. She didn't care about us, she never _had_ cared about us. She could've stopped this but she chose not to. None of this would've even happened if it wasn't for her curiosity, her obsession.

I was angry and it was poisoning me from the inside out. Two years. _Two year_ of pain and hatred causing the rage that dwelled within me. It wouldn't just wash away because she told me her life's story. It didn't work like that. Someone needed to pay and I needed an outlet for this crippling anger.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sob, "I'm sorry for _everything_."

Even though it was an apology, the words she spoke triggered me, igniting my rage and making it come alive. I stalked forwards and gripped her small frame by the shoulders making her stand.

"You think you can tell me you're sorry and expect all to be forgiven," I yelled in her face, "you think that two measly words can wash away the pain of not just two years but the rest of my fucking life."

She shut her eyes tightly, like she was trying to block out my words but I needed her to hear them. I needed her to know _she_ was to blame. So, I shook her whilst I shouted, "look at me!"

"Look at who I've become, at what I can do," I demanded. Letting go of my grip on her left shoulder, I held up my hand showing her the fire I possessed. "This _abnormality,_ this is your fault. _You_ did this to us! Nothing will ever be normal again. We'll end up running our whole lives trying to get away from people like _you_. People who are cruel, who don't care that we are also humans and just want to use us."

"I know how this ends for us. In reality, the good guys never win and we'll either die fighting or die trying. And happiness? I don't even know what that is anymore and I sure as hell don't see a future with it. You ruined my life, you ruined the lives of nine boys. And you deserve to burn in hell for that."

The more I spoke, the more enraged I felt and my fire fed off it. I was furious and the hate I had garnered was blurring my judgment. I could feel it, I was going to do something that I was going to regret but I couldn't stop now. I didn't know how to.

"I see the fire inside your eyes, the constant burning and the raw power. I see there's a darkness within you that you can't control. You need to be careful of that darkness because one day, it could be your downfall," Doctor Choi warned with clarity.

In that moment she was the cunningly intelligent scientist, I had known her to be instead of the crazy, fragile woman she had crumpled into. I knew her words had meaning and I didn't want to pick it apart but she had hit a cord. Because what she said was true and I despised the fact that she might be right. I was in disbelief, after all she had done to me, she had the nerve to tell me there was something wrong with me.

"You're right, I can't control it. The darkness, it swallows me whole and I let it. Sometimes, I even like it," I taunted and I followed through with my actions.

Gripping my hand around her neck I squeezed, cutting off her airways. Lifting her body off the ground, her eyes widened from the lack of oxygen. She struggled in my hold and scratching at my hand but I hardly felt it.

I should've been ashamed of myself but something about her desperation was satisfying. Vengeance felt like taking a bite out of the forbidden fruit and I bathed in its glory.

"I want you to know, I blame you for _everything_ and I hope you burn in hell for all your sins," I spat spitefully, wanting her to hear my parting words. I tightened my grip with evil intentions and a few more seconds was all it would take and she would be dead.

"Chanyeol!" someone shouted from behind me. I turned to see Suho standing by the door. He was panting with sweat rolling down his temple and he looked worn from battle.

"What are you doing?" he asked and looked at me like he had never seen me before. I felt like I was a kid again and had been caught doing something I shouldn't be. "Chanyeol, listen to me, she's not worth it. You're better than this, I know you are. Don't stoop down to their level because it's something you'll regret for the rest of your life."

Snapping out of my anger infused haze, I let go of Doctor Choi and her body crumpled to the ground. She reached for her neck and started dragging in deep breaths, trying to inhale as much oxygen as possible.

What had I been thinking? I stared down at my hands, realizing I truly didn't know who I was anymore. I nearly killed someone with my bare hands. It didn't get more barbaric than that. Suddenly, Doctor Choi reached out and grabbed my leg tightly. "You have every right to blame me but don't forget who the real villain is," she croaked.

I didn't have enough time to process what she said before Suho urged, "we need to leave, _now_. They'll be here soon."                        

 


	11. Suho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This chapter took so long to write but it's finally out! Thanks for all the support and hope you enjoy it! - exoxouniverse*

I blasted a stream of water from my hands, hitting the group of guards in front of me and they tumbled down from the force of the blow, just as I had planned. Wielding my power, I concentrated as I trapped them in a bubble of water, cutting off their oxygen supply. 

I heard the sound of glass shattering and I directed my attention towards the noise. On the opposite side of the room, Chanyeol had pushed a guard right through a window, breaking it. He was staring at something on the other side but from my vantage point, I could only see his back. Intrigued, I shifted until I finally had a clear view.

Through the broken glass, he had come face to face with Doctor Choi. Until now, she had been the last thing on my mind. I had nearly forgotten her existence while the chaos of the battle had raged on. Honestly, I was surprised by her appearance. I had assumed she would be the first person to disappear after things went south.               

I watched as Chanyeol turned around and surveyed the dire situation of the ongoing fight. Judging by his hard expression, I knew he had already made up his mind. His last glance wouldn't change a thing because his decision was clear: he would give chase.

I saw the look in his eye and it was filled with pure emotion: vengeance. I shouted his name loudly but he didn't react. He was either ignoring me or he just couldn't hear me over the noise of the battle and his roaring rage.                                                               

Releasing my power, the water containing my attackers spilled across the concrete and my victims dropped to the ground in a heap of bodies. I ran towards Chanyeol's direction but I was too late, he was already gone. He had jumped through the window into a room of fire and disappeared.                                                                                                                        

Once I got to the broken window, I realized it was actually a mirror and flames licked the room on the opposite side. Like Chanyeol had, I assessed the situation. There were just too many of them and not enough of us. If we continued this way we would be overpowered sooner or later. We weren't going to make it out alive. Eventually we would tire and they would find a way to overpower us.

 "Look out!" Chen shouted in warning from nearby. Distracted, I hadn't been paying attention to the guard racing towards me in attack. At the last moment, I dodged as he lunged at me. Caught off guard, he wasn't able to stop his momentum and went straight through broken mirror.

Deciding I shouldn't stand by and watch, I propelled my body into action. Seeing there were three men in pursuit of Chen, I stalked forwards and I yanked one of them back by the collar. He yelped in surprise before landing hard on the ground. I heard a crack and winced hoping his head didn't hit the concrete hard enough to split open.

Finally noticing my presence, the other guard focused his attention on me. He threw a punch towards my face but I caught his fist in my hand and squeezed, crushing his fingers. He whelped in pain and swung his other fist blindly but I threw him backwards before he could do any damage.

Chen had taken care of the remaining guard and was already bracing himself for the onslaught oncoming attackers. Breathlessly, he spoke, "if we keep going on like this, we're not going to last long.”

He was right. We needed a game changing moment or else we would end up losing this battle or worse, dead. Abruptly, Chen shot out his lightning towards a crowd of black, eliminating a large portion of the next wave of guards. I looked down at my hands and suddenly an idea came to mind. Determinedly, I shouted, "I've got a plan!"

"What is it?" Chen asked but I ignored his question, trying to figure out the logistics of it in my head. I would need time and more importantly, protection.

"We need to gather everyone and fast," I instructed. I looked towards where Lay and Kai were stationed in the center of the room, with the others surrounding them in a defensive circle. Kai was looking better now, he was sitting up and fortunately had stopped bleeding. I assumed Lay had healed him by now but he still looked drained from losing so much blood.

"We need to get there as fast as possible," I said, pointing to where the others were gathered. Chen nodded and we raced off, charging towards the crowd. We fought our way through, hitting, dodging and blocking our opponents.

Only when we finally reached the center of the room did we stop fighting to breathe. I knelt down and before I could ask about Kai's condition, Lay spoke first, "he's mostly healed now and more importantly he's stopped bleeding, both externally and internally. I did my best in this circumstance but he lost so much blood so he’s weak. He can fight but not much, we need to get him out of here, the sooner the better."

I nodded, trying to process the situation. "I have a plan and it involves flooding the whole room but I need protection and I need you guys acting as distraction."

"Okay, just tell me what to do and I'll make it happen," Lay said confidently. So we quickly derived a plan and by the time we were finished Kai was finally up on his feet. He looked a bit shaky but that was to be expected.

I had told Lay I needed undisrupted concentration, to flood the room, I would need all the focus I could get. Now I was in the middle of the protective circle instead of Kai, who had started throwing a few punches here and there while the others continued to fight.

I closed my eyes and lifted my hands on either side of my body, trying to focus on the flow of the water. I could hear it calling to me, the sound of waves filling my ears. I followed the noise from within and I reached through my body, feeling the cool sense of refreshment raising to just beneath my skin. There was something completely calming about the sound and feel of water that made me complete.

My power washed through me, clearing the sweat of the battle and the drain of fighting. A feeling of power before rushed through me and I relished in it. I let go of the tight control I had and my body buzzed as I let the water flow freely.

Once I opened my eyes, I realized I had formed two massive whirlpools of water on either side of me. They were spinning in the air, fast like a tornado and it was a spectacular sight to behold. The water looked like an extension of my body and the steady stream flowing from my hands were making them grow larger by the second. A swell of pride formed within my gut, remembering when I could only blast unsteady streams of water through my hands and now look what I could do.

Water: a substance of necessity. An element that filled the majority earth's surface and it held such beauty. There was a tranquility to water that could calm one's soul, even in the simple act of a tide washing the shore or a pond acting as a reflective mirror. Yet this was frighteningly dangerously, especially with the chaos of lighting buzzing through the air, rocks flying and blast of frigid wind blowing. The sheer force and momentum the whirlpools had gathered could cause unlimited destruction.

Although right now that wasn't my intention. As the mass of water grew, my arms became heavier and heavier and my power supply was starting to drain quickly. The strain on my body was becoming too much and my mind was starting to crack. With one last shout, I gathered all my energy and threw the water as far away as I could.

They hit opposite sides of the room, crashing against the concrete walls as a wave would against a cliff, losing its form the water fell to the ground. The momentum of the force rocked the room and then water started filling it up. With so much space to cover, it only reached up to my ankles but it was enough.

The guards were distracted reacting to the flood and on cue, Lay started running. He yelled at the others to follow him and I joined quickly after, breaking through the space between the crowd of panicked guards.

Trudging through the water only slowed us down a little and we quickly reached the exit. Before pushing the door open, I said, "none of us can be in here for the finale, except Chen. Make sure nobody is touching water or else you'll get fried. We all know what to do right?"

A few nods here and there was enough reassurance I needed and I opened the door. One by one we filed out of the room and the guards started to notice we were gone. Once locating us through the dark, they started in our direction through the water.

"You’ve got this, right?" I asked Chen and he nodded in response. Clapping him on the shoulder I said, "we'll be waiting for you on the other side. Now light them up."

He gave me a wicked smile and turned around. It was my queue to leave and once the door clicked shut and I ran out of the room, through another door and away from any water in sight. Only then did I hear the sound of crackling electricity.

The guys were huddled outside in the corridor and it was a sight for sore eyes. Their dirtied bodies, stained with blood and sweat contrasted harshly against the pristine white floor and walls. We looked completely out of place. Breaking the silence, Sehun asked, "that's ought to work, right?"

"Surely. If not, these people have to be genetically engineered. Actually, I take that back because we are basically genetically engineered and electrocution still works on us. They would have to be..." Baekhyun pondered.

"Robots?" Lay suggested.

"Yeah! Robots, electrocution doesn't work on robots, does it?" Baekhyun enthused. This was a ridiculous conversation, especially in this given situation but I didn't expect anything else from these guys.

Tuning out the conversation about robots, Xiumin turned to me and clasped my shoulder. “Nice thinking by the way,” he complimented, “pretty smart, using water as a conductor for electricity.”

I smiled at the praise, secretly wanting to hear more but I shrugged and replied modestly, “saw it in a movie.” Which was the truth but I had also learnt it in science at school. Honestly, it wasn’t anything genius, just common knowledge. It was way more impressive that the spontaneous plan had worked.

"Wait, where's Chanyeol?" Xiumin suddenly asked panicked. "Shit, is he still in there? Oh my God, did we forget about him? If he's still in there he'll probably be unconscious or...dead."

"No, he’s not, don’t panic! I saw him earlier, he left and went after Doctor Choi," I answered after the sudden reminder. The others were a bit speechless at my revelation. I guess they were having the same reaction as me, they had forgotten about her until now.

"I'll go find him. You guys stay here and wait for Chen, then go to the tunnel, we’ll meet you there. If the guards find you first, leave without us and we'll come after, okay?" I instructed, deciding to take lead and concoct a plan on the spot.

"But...we can't leave you alone," Sehun said from beside me.

"I'll be alright," I replied ruffling his hair then adding, "plus, we don't have time. We need to leave as soon as possible, we need to take advantage of them being caught off guard."

"Okay but be careful," Kyungsoo said and I smiled at him. He never spoke too much but when he did I knew he meant it. Without another look backwards, I left.

After a while of walking forwards, I realized it wasn't difficult to tell where Chanyeol had went because of the markings on the white floors and walls. The ashy foot prints could only be caused by debris from fire and they brought me right to a melted metal door that was wide open.

Chanyeol's large frame was the first thing I saw and I began to walk forward. I paused though when he started talking and I realized Doctor Choi was also in the room, he had just been covering her from my sight.

"You're right, I can't control it. The darkness, it swallows me whole and I let it. Sometimes, I even like it," Chanyeol taunted and I froze at his words. There was truth that had rung free in the words he spoke and a sliver of fear went through me because I knew I could relate.

I watched as he started gripping his hands around her neck and squeezing. He lifted Doctor Choi's body off the ground and her eyes widened while she struggled in the tight hold, scratching at Chanyeol's hands. There was something within me that wanted him to keep going, to keep squeezing, for her to be dead.                        

"I want you to know, I blame you for everything and I hope you burn in hell for all your sins," Chanyeol said with venom in his words. He tightened his grip and when her eyes rolled to the back of her head, I knew he was a second away from killing her. I unfroze from my immorality and decided to stop him before it was too late.

"Chanyeol!" I shouted and he turned to see I was there behind him. His expression was full of anger and vengeance but I knew this wasn’t actually him. He was letting the darkness take over and it wasn’t right.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. It wasn't a question I wanted an answer to, instead I wanted him to realize what he was doing was wrong. "Chanyeol, listen to me, she's not worth it. You're better than this, I know you are. Don't stoop down to their level because it's something you'll regret for the rest of your life."                              

Instantly, he became dazed and his face fell slack as he let go of the hold he had on Doctor Choi. Her body crumpled to the ground and she spasmed while she reached for her neck and started dragging in deep breaths.                        

Chanyeol stared down at his hands and his feelings were blatant on his face: he was disgusted with himself. Suddenly, Doctor Choi reached out and grabbed his leg tightly, croaking out words I couldn't hear from across the room. He shook her off and she quickly backed away from him.

We didn't have time for this, the others were waiting for us and if we didn't leave soon we would get caught. So I urged him, “we need to leave, now. They'll be here soon."

Snapping out of his daze, he looked towards me and nodded. I turned to go but suddenly he called out for me to wait. Looking back, I saw him crouched on the ground picking up loose pieces of paper. Only then did I notice the file scattered all over the floor.

"I think these are important," Chanyeol said slowly, "she came back to get them, so there must be something in these, or else she wouldn't risk her life for them."

I hurried over to where he was crouched looking at the papers scattered on the ground. "Alright, take them and we can figure it out later but right now, we need to go," I instructed.

After picking up all the pages we could find, I folded them as small as possible and stuffed it into my pocket. Then I started off towards the assigned meeting point and Chanyeol followed behind without another word. Our journey was filled with sharp turns and heavy footsteps as I tried to navigate our way through the maze of endless white corridors.

Hearing muffled voices in the distance, I stopped and edged close to the wall, peeking around the corner. There were guards coming in our direction, no doubt searching for us. Quickly I slipped into the closest door and shut it quietly after Chanyeol entered. Crouching by the door, we waited whilst listening for their footsteps to pass.

Chanyeol tapped my leg to get my attention and I turned around to follow his gaze. I took in the room which was small and square but what stood out was that the walls were completely covered. Top to bottom, pictures and information filled every surface like a giant collage. Actually, what it looked like was a giant murder board, the ones you see in crime movies.

There were too many things to focus on and my eyes had a hard time trying to adjust to the visual display. However, my vision zoned in when I spotted my picture up on the wall. Intrigued, I walked closer to inspect it and my eyes widened when I realized it was my passport photo.

The next photo that caught my eye was one of my family. It was taken during Chuseok and we were all wearing Hanboks in it. I remember my dad had set up a tripod in the living room and it took too many attempts to get a picture were everyone was looking. After he framed the photo and hung up on the hallway wall of our home and I would pass it every time I left the house. So how did the picture end up here?

There were many other photos, some I had never seen before: from my childhood, school pictures and ones I didn’t even know were being taken. Even the photo my mother kept in her wallet of my brother and I, worn and a bit crumpled, was taped up on the wall. This montage showed every aspect of my private life and what was worse was the detailed information plastered next to each picture.

There were things that only the closest people in my life would know about me but there it was, up on the wall. Even my smallest habits, like making noises while eating or curling into a ball when I sleep. My fears and even my secrets were staring right back at me.

The information was precisely accurate, making my hairs stand on end and chills to run through my body. I had a bad feeling about this. How did they even know all this? Unless…they had been stalking me for years or worse, someone had told them. I felt sick to the stomach and completely violated. 

I had been stalked from the very beginning and it was worse than I had imagined. I don’t know why I was still surprised at this point but foolishly, I was. It felt like there was more behind this than being targeted for capturing though. The information they had was too specific. It was one thing to observe habits but to know my fears and wants was another.

How was it possible that they knew my deepest darkest secrets? Looking back, the secrets I kept were just silly little school boy stuff. However, it’s not the content of the secrets I was worried about, it’s the question of how did they know. Who figured them out? Who _told_ them?

“I swear I heard something from this direction,” a deep voice said from the other side of the door. I held my breath, trying not to make a sound. Distracted, I forgot about the guards we were hiding from and they had caught up to us. It wasn’t that we couldn’t fight them off but it was better if no one else was alerted of our presence.

“You’re probably just hearing things,” another voice spoke and their footsteps sounded more muffled now. They must’ve started walking in another direction after coming up short.

“What the hell is all this?” Chanyeol whispered loudly in panic. His eyes were wide and I was pretty sure my expression mirrored his. Looking around at the covered walls, I involuntarily shivered again and replied, “I have no idea but I can tell you one thing for sure, it’s creepy. 

“Every single detail about me is up on this wall!” Chanyeol half yelled in frustration, pointing towards his picture. “Things that no one know about me…but somehow they do.” His fists were clenched, starting to glow red hot and his face was scrunched in anger. He was being too loud and I needed to calm the storm brewing within him before we got caught.

I started to speak but he cut me off, “they lied to us. None of this was fate. None of it!” He ripped the pictures off the wall while I watched, not sure what to do. “We were _targeted._ The evidence is all here, look how young we are in some of these pictures.”

I looked to where he was pointing and he was right. I had been asking myself the same questions. Picking up a photo of the ground that was now crumpled, he shoved it in my face, “how could they have known about the bird I healed back to life when I was _seven_? It sure as hell wasn’t me who took this photo, I didn’t own a digital camera and it’s a joke to think my mother or father knew how to work one. So, who was it?”

Chanyeol raked his fingers through his hair and he now looked slightly crazed. “None of it adds up! This was before Doctor Choi discovered the gene, before you went to her hospital, right?”

I nodded in answer. Maybe he was getting at something because he was right. It didn’t add up, I was eleven when I supposedly went to the hospital so how did they have pictures of Chanyeol when he was so young? Stunned by his realization, I whispered more to myself than anyone else, “we _were_ targeted. 

“I think we’re just scrapping the surface, there’s more to this than we know. Everything we know was a lie. Everything Doctor Choi just told me was a lie, she was just trying to buy more time,” Chanyeol paced back in forth the room like he was trying to disperse his rage by movement. “Who even knows if the EXO gene is real, it could just be another lie!”

Without warning, he punched the wall with force and I covered my face as pieces of debris flew in all directions. His hand had started to bleed and I called his name in a low warning voice. He turned to me and instantly I was on alert as his eyes flamed with a burning fire.

Sometimes, I didn’t know if it was Chanyeol’s personality or his power that triggered his temper. Maybe it was both. It was as if they fed off each other and molded into one singularity. And sometimes, I didn’t know if he could even control it. There was a raging fire within him and I could see it just wanted to be set free, it _needed_ to be freed.

“I’m so angry,” he growled as he kicked a slab of concrete hard into the opposite wall. He was being noisy and we were going to get caught but I didn’t think now was the right time to reprimand him. “I just want to burn this whole place to the ground!”

“Maybe you should,” I said and he stopped in his tracks. Suddenly I could hear heavy footsteps on the other side of the door, the guards had come back. I grabbed Chanyeol’s arm and dragged him so we were crouched down on the left side of the door. I repeated myself but this time in a whisper, “maybe you should.”

Chanyeol stared at me with a confused expression, so I continued, “we’re so close, too close to let this slip out of our fingers again. _Now_ is our only chance to escape. Who knows what they’ll do to us if we get caught, it would kill me if I have to live another day like this. I can’t go back to that cell, that _darkness_.”

Chanyeol shuddered and I knew he was thinking about the same thing I was: the endless days we spent in that horrid darkness. Although now I could feel a glimmer of hope and the light beyond the tunnel was so close. We just needed to catch up to it.

“Let’s fight. Then burn _everything_ ,” I instructed with passion. Chanyeol looked surprised at my order but he was the one who gave me the idea. “Do you understand Chanyeol? When I say everything, I mean _everything_. Burn this whole building to the ground and everyone along with it. I’m giving you permission to unleash the rage, to let go for once. Don’t think, just do. Do whatever you have to.”

Slowly he nodded his head and his expression changed to one of determination. He stood up and directed his hands towards the wall of pictures, now ripped and shredded in some places, and shot out streams of flames. All I could see was red. Fire licked the walls, turning the room black, to ash and dust. The real destruction had begun.

I formed a layer of water over my skin, just as a precaution. I didn’t want to get burnt in the process. Without checking for danger, I flung open the door to be met with the guards from earlier. I didn’t give them any time to react as I blasted them into the opposite wall, leaving behind a pile of bodies on the ground.

Then we were off running again all while Chanyeol’s fire raged on. Streams of red and orange coming of his body in waves and every time I looked behind me, I could only see fire. We passed the training room exit and I traced back as an idea came to me.

Kicking open the doors of the exit we previously escaped from and causing water to flood out, wetting my feet. I entered the training room where we were fighting just moments ago.

 “What are you doing?” Chanyeol questioned, confused to why we had stopped. Though he was even more bewildered when he saw the state of the room. There was water covering the entire surface, reaching just above one’s ankles and bodies everywhere. Shocked, he asked, “what the hell happened while I was gone? 

“Let’s just say they got zapped out of existence,” I replied like it was an explanation but we didn’t have time for a recap. “This room is the core of the building so ideally if we set it on fire, it will eventually spread to every corner which will speed up this whole process.”

“But what about the water?” Chanyeol asked, making me pause.

“Don’t worry about the water, I’ll deal with it,” I answered vaguely. I wasn’t sure how but I needed to come up with a solution and fast. I started by gathering up the water, slowly making it rise up and form into a large ball. Chanyeol walked over to the center of the room while trying to avoid the bodies lying on the ground. 

The mass of water was getting heavier and I didn’t know what to do with it but it somehow needed to be absorbed. Think, think, think, I told myself. I watched as Chanyeol lit up his hands and his body started to glow and at this point I was surprised his clothes hadn’t burned off him, yet.

There, off into the distance, I had found my answer. Focusing beyond Chanyeol, I had spotted a drain. Eureka! I internally fist pumped the air and concentrated on forming a stream from the mass of water. Directing the gathered liquid into the drain but it wasn’t enough for the sheer volume of water I was dealing with.

I needed more than just this drain. I looked around but I couldn’t find anything else but thankfully, an idea came to mind. Toilet! A toilet would work the same way or the sinks nearby it anyway. Just anything with pipes would do. Forming a stream towards the toilets that we had regularly used, I directed the water down anything I was able to access. 

When there was no water left, I shouted at Chanyeol to start and on cue, he erupted. Fire blazed all around and it was beautiful. However, what I saw made me double take because Chanyeol had unintentionally formed a phoenix. I don’t know what it meant or if he even knew he had done it but it was marvelous none the less.

Debris started flying everywhere from the force of the explosion and I ducked behind the door taking cover. Good thing I had fast reflexes or else I would have been burnt to a crisp. I re-formed the layer of water over my skin which acted like a safety blanket, as the heat of the fire had made me feel weirdly uncomfortable. My temperature drastically cooled down and I felt safe. Well as safe as one can feel in the midst of a fire.

I peeked my head out, to see Chanyeol running towards me through the room that was now utterly destroyed and I quickly got up. Seeing he was only a couple of steps behind me now, I started running and told him to follow. Directing our way through the now burning building, we ran as fast as we could. Chanyeol’s skin was accustom to fire but mine wasn’t and the protection from the water blanket would only last so long.

Recognizing the crossroad up ahead, I abruptly halted and Chanyeol skidded to a stop. My breathing was heavy while I crouched down by the side of the wall. I ignored my exhaustion as I felt for any cracks or imperfections in the pristine white.

Thankfully the fire hadn’t caught up to us just yet and this area was intact but we didn’t have much time left. Chanyeol started to help out and after spotting something significant he exclaimed, “there!” 

He was pointing to the dirt smudges from finger prints along the middle of the wall staining the white canvas. They must’ve belonged to the others which I was more than glad abut. Feeling relief that they had made it here before us, I let out a breath.

I trailed my fingers along the path they made and then pressed my hand up against it. Giving the area a hard push, the wall contracted forming a small door which slid open to reveal a small dark tunnel.

I looked down the hallway and saw the fire starting to lick the walls at the opposite end. So, I urged Chanyeol into the tunnel and then followed behind him. I turned and smacked the button on the side of the tunnel and the door slid shut, encasing us in darkness.

We couldn’t see anything at all, there were no cracks of light so we just moved through the tunnel using our sense of touch as a guide. Whilst I crawled forwards on all fours, I waited for my eyes to adjust a bit until I could make out Chanyeol’s form in front.

In the stuffiness and confined space, my heart beat quickened, feeling the effects of claustrophobia sink in. Trying to battle through it, I pushed aside the constricting feeling and crawled faster until I could feel the sting in my knees.

Chanyeol also sped up the pace, moving with more urgency but suddenly he stumbled and yelled. His body started to fall forwards as he didn’t realize he reached the end of the tunnel and his upper body fell through a hole. Quickly I reached out and grabbed onto both his legs with my hands but the weight of his body was pulling me through too.

From the gravity, I was now on my stomach but I quickly planted my feet against the edge of the metal tunnel. The grip of my shoes jammed our movement and the muscles in my arms strained as I held onto Chanyeol’s legs. I let out a breath of relief as I held onto him but suddenly I lost my grip and we were falling.

I was screaming and it wasn’t manly, at all. We tumbled to the ground, crashing onto a pile of bodies. Thankfully it wasn’t the concrete ground because that would’ve hurt a whole lot more.

“Get off!” someone winced breathlessly and I realized I was sprawled out on top of Baekhyun. I quickly got up, groaning through the pains and helped him up too while apologizing.

“That’s one way to may an entrance,” Sehun commented and a few chuckles followed. I looked up to see the hole we fell down was connected to a ladder that could’ve made life a lot less painful but of course we missed it entirely.

Taking in my surroundings, I realized we were underground now. We were in a tunnel made of concrete and up ahead I could only see darkness. It was wet and humid and judging by the foul smell I think we were near the sewers. It was a bit different to how I imagined it from the way Kai had described it previously but not by much.

We had only found out about this place because of Kai’s regular exploring. This tunnel was our Plan B, not an easy one but we knew that it was an escape route that could come in use. He came across it by mistake but luck must’ve been on our side that day. He told us what he had found and we had told him to dig deeper and find out where it led and how to get in. Only then it would be of real use to us.

“Is everyone here?” I asked, facing the others.

“You’re the one who usually does the head count,” Baekhyun quipped and I pinned him with an unimpressed stared. He gave me a cheeky smile and saluted me in mockery, “yes, we are all present Sir!”

I reached out to punched him in the arm but he blinded me with his lights and I instantly covered my eyes. Annoyed, I reached out the grab him but Chanyeol stood in the way. 

“Okay we don’t have time for this!” he scolded. “I just set the whole building on fire so it’s a good thing we’re underground but we need to get out of here as fast as possible incase this place comes crumbling down on us.”

“You set the whole building on fire?” Sehun asked sounding surprised but impressed. 

“That’s a story for another time,” I answered for Chanyeol, “alright boys, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

“Kai will lead the way since he knows which exit is the right one,” Lay said speaking up for Kai. He was looking a little better now but still not good.  

Kai took off running and we all followed, our heavy footsteps echoing through the tunnel. It was impossible to be quiet but it didn’t matter since we were underground. Baekhyun for once was being helpful as he illuminated the tunnel so that we weren’t tripping over each other or ourselves whilst running into the darkness.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled like there was an earthquake and we all stopped out of caution. Xiumin voiced what we were all thinking, “what was that?”

No one answered and we waited in silence but all of a sudden, the ground rumbled again. Worry started to seep in and Kyungsoo informed, “it’s definitely not coming from here. I think it coming from up there.” 

He looked certain and it was probably because he could feel it through his elemental power. It sure felt like an earthquake but if it wasn’t then what could it be? An eruption of some sort?

Abruptly the ceiling of the tunnel caved and concrete started raining down on us. A slab hit my temple and I could feel warm liquid trickling down the side of my face. Kyungsoo raised his hands up and stopped the bricks in motion. I was right it was some kind of eruption, an explosion. Looking up through the hole it had created in the ceiling, I could see the fire had spread into a room I had never seen before.

My eyes widened when I realized the room ablaze contained gas tanks. The mix of fire and gas was always a bad ending. Instantly panicked, I screamed, “Run!” When no one started moving I shouted louder, with more urgency, “RUN!”

At that, everyone kicked into motion and started scrambling forward. Kyungsoo let go of his hold and debris started tumbling down just as another explosion went off. The entire ceiling was crumbling and if we didn’t run faster we were all going to end up dead under a pile of rubble. 

“We’re nearly there, just a bit further,” Kai yelled and I prayed to God he was right. I ran until my lungs burned and my head felt dizzy, all while my muscles ached from the exertion. I hoped that we were moving fast enough to escape death. Suddenly, Kai took a left, making me having to change directions sharply and nearly miss the turn.

Up ahead was a set of stairs and light. Real sunlight! We raced up the stairs to be met with black bars, similar to the ones that encaged for years. It was locked with a normal padlock and Chanyeol pushed forwards. I begged for it not to be a trick and rejoiced when it fell to the ground in a melted puddle of metal. We burst through the gate and we were met with a large field.

I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness of the hot sun. In my peripheral vision I could see something dark and large and I couldn’t miss it if I tried. I turned to face it and watched as the huge building, which casted a dark shadow over us, burned. I let the smile on my face show and I whispered more to myself than anyone else, “we did it.” 

“Let’s go before people start showing up,” Chen suggested and we nodded in agreement. We walked to the edge of the field and there was a black van similar to the one we tried to escape in the first time. I approached it cautiously this time and signaled the others forwards when I discovered it was empty.

They all piled on whilst I got in the driver’s seat with Baekhyun and Kai in the passenger side. I hotwired the car easily and the engine rumbled to life, letting happiness flow through my body at the sound of freedom. After strapping himself in, Kai asked, “where too?”

Grabbing onto the steering wheel, I replied, “am I not supposed to be asking _you_ that question?

He shrugged his shoulders and said, “yes I can teleport but I’m not a human GPS. I couldn’t and still can’t for the life of me figure out where we are so let’s just go forwards for now.”

I pressed on the accelerator and mumbled, “forwards it is then.”

Baekhyun turned on the radio and said, “we do know one thing though: that we’re still I Korea. Thank God.”

“And how do you know that?” I asked, looking at him sideways and he answered casually, “radio is in Korean.”

“Huh,” I uttered unintelligently, quite surprised he figured that out so quickly. After a while, he started humming along with the songs playing even though he hadn’t listened to music in years and didn’t know the words. But for once I didn’t tell him to shut up because his voice was weirdly calming, melodic even, different to how he usually sounded.  

We had been driving for a while and still all that surrounded us were fields and more fields. There were a few animals and barns along the way but no real sign of civilization. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I was getting tired behind the wheel. I could feel the effects of the battle starting to sink in. My body and mind needed to recharge and I needed food, stat.

Abruptly, the car started to splutter and quickly came to a halt. A loud bang from the exhaust woke Baekhyun and Kai up, putting them on high alert. We had enough fuel for a while longer, so the problem must’ve to do with the car. Baekhyun asked in a sleepy voice, “what happened?”

“I think…the car just broke down,” I answered, feeling slightly defeated but used to the bad luck. Baekhyun looked around and being met with only fields sighed, “what now?”

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
